Approval was given at an Executive Board meeting, chaired by FIH President Narinder Batra.

The Executive Board confirmed Europe will have six representatives at the 2022 Women’s World Cup, with co-hosts Spain and The Netherlands already confirmed.

The final four places will be determined at the 2021 EuroHockey Championship.

Asia will boast four representatives and the Pan American region three, with the 2021 Asia Cup and 2022 Pan American Cup in Chile determining the qualifiers.

The 2021 Oceania Cup will qualify two nations, while next year’s Africa Cup of Nations will determine the continent’s sole qualifier.

The FIH has also approved the match schedule for the 2022 Women’s World Cup tournament.

Hosts India are assured of a place in the 2023 Men’s World Cup, where they will be joined by three qualifiers from the 2021 Asia Cup.

Seven teams will qualify from next year’s EuroHockey Championship event in The Netherlands, while two countries will qualify from both the Oceania Cup and Pan American Cup in 2021 and 2022 respectively.

One team will qualify from the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations.

The FIH had been forced to increase the number of quota places for World Cups available through Continental Championships.

Traditionally, only the winner of each Continental Championship has been awarded an automatic World Cup berth.

The now-defunct Hockey World League had previously offered 11 and 10 places for the men's and women's tournaments, respectively.

Playoffs had initially been expected to determine qualifiers, but the places will all be determined based on the Continental Championships.

The FIH has also approved the match schedule for the 2021 FIH Women’s Junior World Cup in South Africa, as well as amendments to the FIH Statutes concerning gender-neutral terms.

These statute changes will be presented for approval to the FIH Congress in May 2021.