Squads announced for European Junior Championships

England Hockey are delighted to announce the men’s and women’s squads for the upcoming EuroHockey Junior Championships.

The event takes place from 24 to 30 July in Ghent and England have named 18 men and 18 women to represent the nation.

England’s men’s team take on hosts Belgium, Scotland and Spain in their Pool, while the women come up against Germany, Ireland and Scotland in the Pool phase.

The men’s team will be led by Olympian Jon Bleby, while Barry Middleton – the most capped player in the history of British hockey – is one of our assistant coaches aside former international Jerome Goudie. Having been unfortunately unable to take part in last year’s Junior Men's World Cup, the team goes into the event delighted to get the chance to represent the nation. The men won silver in the last edition of this European competition in Valencia in 2019.

The women’s squad - coached by Simon Letchford - contains 14 players who won an historic first ever Junior World Cup bronze medal in South Africa earlier this year. The team are captained by Olivia Hamilton, and also selected is Darcy Bourne, fresh from playing for England’s senior women in the World Cup and on the back of a season as the top scorer in the Vitality Women’s Hockey League Premier Division.

All games will be available to watch free on EuroHockey’s streaming platform at eurohockeytv.org

Men’s squad

Women’s squad

Heather Williams, Head of Elite Talent Development said: “Congratulations to all the players selected, it’s been a tough two years through the pandemic, especially for the men who weren’t able to compete in the Junior World Cup, so I’m delighted that both sides now have the opportunity to compete on the international stage. My thanks to the players’ clubs, schools, universities and families for all their support.

“I also want to take the opportunity to say thank you to all the clubs who have put in so much work over the last twelve months towards achieving Talent Centre accreditation or preparing to deliver a Talent Academy as part of our new talent strategy; Talent Development – A New Way Forward. While the young players selected are the class of 2022 these high-quality talent development environments will ensure that many more high-potential players have the opportunity to follow in their footsteps in the future.”

Fixtures
Men
Sun 24 July England v Scotland, 3:30pm local time
Tue 26 July England v Belgium, 6:45pm
Wed 27 July England v Spain 3:30pm
Fri 29-Sat 30 July Knockout / classification matches

Women
Sun 24 July England v Ireland, 11am local time
Tue 26 July England v Germany, 2:15pm
Wed 27 July England v Scotland 1:15pm
Fri 29-Sat 30 July Knockout / classification matches

We will have match images, reports and details here on the official England Hockey website, as well as across our social media.

Best wishes also go to English officials involved in the event. NPUA (National Programme Umpiring Association) said: "We’re delighted to have Zoe Hall & Jake Charles (umpires) & Hamish Jamson (UM) also representing England at this great tournament. Good luck to everyone involved!"