Ireland’s Men Are Up for Team of the Year After the Best Year in Their History
Twelve months ago, nobody outside Irish hockey was talking about this team. Now they’re up for Team of the Year.
Ireland’s men have been shortlisted for the top team honour at the 2026 Olympic Sport Awards, after a year that rewrote what this side thought was possible. Voting is open now and closes on Sunday, 15 November.
It started in Santiago, Chile, at the World Cup qualifiers. Ireland topped their group, then beat Wales in the semi-final to book their place at the 2026 FIH Hockey World Cup. Then they went and won the whole qualifying tournament, coming from behind to beat France in the final.
That ended an eight-year wait. Ireland hadn’t played at a World Cup since 2018, and they’re only the fourth Irish men’s side to get there since the country’s debut back in 1978.
And they didn’t just turn up in Belgium and the Netherlands. Ireland finished 10th, their best ever at a World Cup, and picked up their first-ever World Cup win along the way, coming from behind to beat South Africa before adding a second win against Malaysia in the classification rounds.
For our money, the shortlist itself is the prize. Awards like this are a popularity vote, and Irish hockey will be up against sports with far bigger followings. But a year ago this team were outsiders trying to qualify. Now they’re being talked about as one of the country’s teams of the year. That’s the measure of what they’ve done.
