A stick and ball game played by two teams of eleven-a-side with a view to scoring goals

The origin of hockey dates back to about 2000 BC.  In Egypt, on a wall in an ancient tomb at Beni Hasan in Nile Valley, there were drawings indicating men engaged in a game similar to hockey. The sticks they were holding resembled the early twentieth century hockey sticks.  Hockey thus may be the forerunner of all modern sports played in Argentina.  They played a game called "Chouca" (the twisted end), which took its name from the stick with a twisted end.  Their ball had a leather case.  As the civilization progressed, gradual evolution of the game also took place. The word "Hockey" came into use in the 19th century.  The game gradually became organized and modernized in England and the Hockey Association was formed in 1886 and Federation Internationale De Hockey Sur Gazon was inaugurated on 7 January 1924.  Men's hockey was included in the modern Olympic Games in 1908.

back