Modern hockey is born with the formation of The Hockey Association in England.
Field hockey is a team sport of the hockey family. Each team plays with ten field players and a goalkeeper, and must carry a round, hard, plastic hockey ball with a hockey stick to the rival goal.
The modern game was developed in the 19th century in the United Kingdom. The game is now played globally, particularly in parts of Western Europe, South Asia, Southern Africa, Australia, New Zealand, Argentina, and parts of the United States, primarily New England and the Mid-Atlantic states.The sport is known simply as "hockey" in territories where it is the more common form of hockey. The term "field hockey" is used primarily in Canada and the United States where "hockey" more often refers to ice hockey. In Sweden, the term landhockey is used, and to some degree in Norway, where the game is governed by the Norges Bandyforbund.During play, goal keepers are the only players allowed to touch the ball with any part of their body, while field players can only play the ball with the flat side of their stick. A player's hand is considered part of the stick if holding the stick. If the ball is "played" with the with the rounded part of the stick (i.e. deliberately stopped or hit), it will result in a penalty (accidental touches are not an offense if they do not materially affect play). Goal keepers also cannot play the ball with the back of their stick.
The team that scores the most goals by the end of the match wins. If the score is tied at the end of the game, either a draw is declared or the game goes into extra time, or there is a penalty shoot-out, depending on the format of the competition. There are many variations to overtime play that depend on the league or tournament rules. In American college play, a seven-aside overtime period consists of a 10-minute golden goal period with seven players for each team. If a tie still remains, the game enters a one-on-one competition where each team chooses five players to dribble from the 25-yard (23 m) line down to the circle against the opposing goalie. The player has eight seconds to score against the goalie while keeping the ball in bounds. The game ends after a goal is scored, the ball goes out of bounds, a foul is committed (ending in either a penalty stroke or flick or the end of the one-on-one) or time expires. If the tie still persists, more rounds are played until one team has scored. The game can be played on grass, watered turf, artificial turf or synthetic field, as well as an indoor boarded surface.
Hockey sticks are made of wood, carbon fibre, fibreglass, or a combination of carbon fibre and fibreglass in different quantities. The length of the hockey stick is based on the player's individual height: the top of the stick usually comes to the player's hip, and taller players typically have longer sticks. The sticks have a round side and a flat side, and only the flat face of the stick is allowed to be used. Use of the other side results in a foul. Goalies often have a different design of stick, although they can also use an ordinary field hockey stick. The specific goal-keeping sticks have another curve at the end of the stick, which is to give it more surface area to block the ball. The uniform consists of shin guards, shoes, shorts or a skirt, a mouthguard and a jersey.
The governing body of field hockey is the International Hockey Federation (FIH), called the Fédération Internationale de Hockey in French, with men and women being represented internationally in competitions including the Olympic Games, World Cup, World League, Champions Trophy and Junior World Cup, with many countries running extensive junior, senior, and masters club competitions. The FIH is also responsible for organizing the Hockey Rules Board and developing the rules of the game.
A popular variant of field hockey is indoor field hockey, which differs in a number of respects while embodying the primary principles of hockey. Indoor hockey is a 5-a-side variant, using a field which is reduced to approximately 40 m × 20 m (131 ft × 66 ft). Although many of the rules remain the same, including obstruction and feet, there are several key variations: players may not raise the ball unless shooting at goal, players may not hit the ball, instead using pushes to transfer it, and the sidelines are replaced with solid barriers, from which the ball will rebound and remain in play. In addition, the regulation guidelines for the indoor field hockey stick require a slightly thinner, lighter stick than an outdoor one.