France Replace Pakistan in Hockey Pro League After Green Shirts Lose All 16 Matches
The door opened with difficulty, and it closed within a single season. According to the International Hockey Federation, France will take Pakistan’s place in the 2026-27 FIH Men’s Pro League, after the Green Shirts finished bottom of the nine-team competition in 2025-26.
Sixteen matches, sixteen defeats
Pakistan’s place in the league had itself come about by chance. When New Zealand pulled out for financial reasons, the FIH offered the vacant slot to Pakistan, and the Pakistan Hockey Federation accepted. What followed on the pitch was a very different story. The side did not win once all season, losing all 16 of its matches and dropping out of the league from the foot of the table.
France earned the way up
France’s arrival is no accident either. The French won the FIH Nations Cup to earn promotion, taking the same route back up that once carried Pakistan. For Pakistan, the road back now runs through the Nations Cup again — only winning there will return the team to the top tier.
The questions sit with the system
For a country with four World Cup titles, going out this way is more than one bad season. Fitness, a leaking defence and the gap in preparation against the big sides were visible all year. The real test for the federation now is whether the team that shows up at the Nations Cup looks ready, not just on paper but on the pitch.
