The Hockey India League (HIL) 2025-26 season concluded on Monday at Kalinga Hockey Stadium in Bhubaneswar, with Vedanta Kalinga Lancers clinching the trophy after a 3-2 victory over the Ranchi Royals in the final.
Behind the celebrations, HIL faced several logistical and financial hurdles. Hockey India president Dilip Tirkey spoke to reporters about the league’s dependence on institutional backing and government support. He also suggested exploring new venues.
“We need to pay more attention to the central sponsorship. We need the help of the government,” said Tirkey. “Without government support, it is very difficult to make a league like this a grand success. We are also taking help from the corporate sector. This has to be a long-term plan, and government support is crucial,” he added.
The league faced issues even before the first whistle was blown. Three franchise owners pulled out before the auction, leading to the rebranding of Team Gonasikas (men) and Odisha Warriors (women) as the Ranchi Royals. UP Rudras (men) found no takers and operations were taken over by the HIL Governing Council (HILGC) to maintain stability.
Till this season, franchise fee for men’s teams was Rs 7 crore and Rs 3 crore for women’s teams. The Hockey India president hinted at financial reforms to ease the burden on franchise owners.
“We will reduce the franchise fee, but it will not be zero,” said Tirkey. “When the financial burden is reduced, more franchises will be interested. We knew there would be challenges in the first two-three years,” the former Indian captain acknowledged.
On the future of HILGC, he said: “If we get suitable options, we will hand it over,” said Tirkey “There is interest from Gujarat and Odisha for men’s teams,” he added.
The league revived after seven years saw a majority of matches played in Rourkela in the first season, but Hockey India expanded the tournament to three cities this season —Chennai, Ranchi and Bhubaneswar. The move saw the league struggle to draw spectators except for the final clash.
To address this, Hockey India is planning a shift to traditional centres. “We have always been planning to go to north India. New Delhi and Chandigarh are in consideration and we will choose one of the two venues. Overall, we will not increase the number of venues and keep it to 2-3,” Tirkey confirmed, adding that fog and travel logistics were the reasons for not shifting this season.
While the league faced many challenges, the federation president believes that the primary objective of HIL was scouting and giving international-level exposure to local players to make them ready for the national team.
“The meaning of HIL is to give young players a chance to play in the senior team. Many players from HIL will play in the FIH Pro League next month, some of them are already in the national camp.”
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