The FIH said the decision gives the "best possible chance for this edition of the competition to be completed while enabling FIH and all National Asssociatons to deliver on broadcast and commercial partner agreements".

The third season of the home-and-away competition has been scheduled for September 2021 to June 2022, representing an extension to the traditional six-month window for the event.

insidethegames revealed last week the tournament had been postponed until at least July in response to the coronavirus crisis.

Participating nations and the governing body had set a tentative resumption date of July and the beginning of August prior to today's announcement.

The extension through to June 2021 allows matches which had been postponed to be held and raises the chances of the season being completed.

Around a third of this season's planned matches had been staged before the pandemic sparked a near-total shutdown of sport across the world.

Critics of the FIH had called for the season to be annulled due to the COVID-19 virus, which has infected more than 2.7 million people and killed at least 192,000 worldwide.

"With the world facing a health crisis like nothing in living memory, predicting a date for when the current competition will restart is almost impossible at this time," FIH chief executive Thierry Weil said.

"Despite the difficult circumstances, these wholly necessary discussions between FIH and the participating National Associations were both positive and constructive.

"We all believe we have found the correct path forward regarding the current edition of the FIH Hockey Pro League, giving ourselves additional time to play the matches while also relieving pressure on both the athletes and the calendar for 2021."