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PAHF — Pan American Hockey Federation

One of the five continental federations of the FIH, which describes them as responsible for the administration, promotion and development of hockey on each continent; PAHF ran the 2025 Pan American Cups in Montevideo.
✓ Last reviewed: October 2026
World federationFIH, which lists PAHF among its “five Continental Federations”[1]
Senior championshipPan American Cup; men’s and women’s editions in Montevideo, Uruguay, 24 July to 3 August 2025[3][6]
World Cup roleThe Pan American Cup 2025 was the continental qualifier named in the FIH’s qualification system for the 2026 FIH Hockey World Cups[5]
MembersNo member count for PAHF is printed on the FIH’s members page[1]
FoundedNo founding date could be retrieved from a primary source[2]
Other eventsPan American Challenge (Lima, 2024 men’s edition) and Junior Pan American championships[7][2]

What is PAHF?

The Pan American Hockey Federation (PAHF) is the continental federation for field hockey in the Americas within the International Hockey Federation (FIH), the sport’s world governing body. The FIH’s members page states: “We have five Continental Federations who are responsible for the administration, promotion and development of Hockey for men and women within each continent”, and lists them as the African Hockey Federation, the Asian Hockey Federation, EuroHockey, the Oceania Hockey Federation and the Pan American Hockey Federation.[1]

PAHF publishes its own site, in English and Spanish, with sections for competitions, news and an events calendar; on 4 October 2026 its front page led with a Junior Pan American report headlined “Leoncitas reclaim Junior Pan Am title as Chile edge Uruguay for Bronze”.[2] PAHF issues its own competition documents, such as the “Qualification Procedure for Pan American Cups 2025”.[4]

The federation’s about and statutes pages could not be retrieved (the site refused those requests), so its legal form, its statutory seat and its own description of itself could not be checked. The description here rests on the FIH’s documents and on PAHF’s competition notices.

What does PAHF govern or do?

PAHF writes no rules of the game: the Rules of Hockey are an FIH document, published among the world federation’s official documents.[8] The continental federation’s role, in the FIH’s words, is “the administration, promotion and development of Hockey for men and women” within its continent.[1]

In practice that means running the continental competition ladder. PAHF set the entry rules for its 2025 Pan American Cups: eight teams per competition, made up of the top six from the 2022 Pan American Cup, the host Uruguay (men), the winner of the 2024 Pan American Challenge, and, to reach eight, the best-placed remaining teams in the FIH World Rankings.[4] It also scheduled and moved the event: on 5 September 2024 it announced that the Cups would move from 5–15 March: “we have decided to reschedule the Pan American Cup to July 24 to August 3”, because “The local organizers informed us of a major event in Montevideo during the same period, impacting accommodation availability and costs for teams and officials”.[3]

Qualification for world events is set by the FIH, not by PAHF: the FIH’s qualification system for the 2026 World Cups names the Pan American Cup 2025 as the continental event for the Americas.[5] Anti-doping in hockey is the FIH’s; no document retrieved names PAHF as a signatory of the World Anti-Doping Code in its own right.

When was PAHF founded and where is it based?

No founding date for PAHF could be retrieved from a primary source. The federation’s about page could not be fetched, and neither the FIH’s members page nor PAHF’s competition documents give one.[1][4] Secondary reference works carry a founding year and an office address, but no primary or independent source for either could be retrieved, and neither is given here.

The same applies to the seat. PAHF’s Pan American Cup qualification procedure and its news notices carry no address, and its statutes could not be retrieved.[3][4] Its competitions move around the continent: the 2025 Pan American Cups were in Montevideo, Uruguay, and the 2024 men’s Pan American Challenge in Lima, Peru.[6][7]

What can be documented is the federation’s current standing: PAHF is one of the five continental federations the FIH lists, and the FIH’s 2026 World Cup qualification system names its Pan American Cup 2025 as the Americas’ continental event.[1][5]

How is PAHF recognised?

Recognition comes from the world federation. The FIH lists the Pan American Hockey Federation as one of its “five Continental Federations who are responsible for the administration, promotion and development of Hockey for men and women within each continent”, alongside its list of national member associations.[1] The FIH Statutes are listed among its governance documents, but the text could not be retrieved, so the article that recognises the continental federations is not quoted here.[8]

The FIH’s competition regulations give the recognition practical effect. Its “Qualification System for 2026 FIH Hockey World Cups” (updated with continental quotas on 1 February 2023) names the “8th Pan American Cup” in Montevideo, 24 July to 3 August 2025, as the Americas’ continental event, with a World Cup quota for “The highest placed nation, not already qualified as a host or through the Pro League quotas”.[5] Olympic recognition belongs to the FIH; PAHF holds no IOC recognition of its own.

The continental multi-sport tie is the Pan American Games of Panam Sports: hockey is on the programme of the Lima 2027 Games, 23 July to 8 August 2027.[9] The 2025 Pan American Cups qualification procedure seeded teams from the 2022 Pan American Cup rather than from the Games.[4] A Panam Sports qualification system for hockey at Lima 2027 could not be retrieved.

What does PAHF organise?

PAHF runs a senior continental championship, the Pan American Cup, for men and women. The 2025 Cups were held in Montevideo, Uruguay, from 24 July to 3 August 2025, after the move from March announced in September 2024.[3] The FIH’s tournament system records the “Pan American Cup Men 2025” at Montevideo over those dates, with the teams in two pools: Argentina, the United States, Brazil and Uruguay in one, Chile, Canada and Mexico among the other.[6] The previous edition was the 2022 Pan American Cup, whose top six teams qualified directly for 2025.[4] The next edition’s date and host could not be confirmed from PAHF.

Below the Cup sits the Pan American Challenge, whose winners take a place in the next Cup. Trinidad and Tobago’s Newsday reported that the national men’s team beat Peru 6–0 in the 2024 Pan American Challenge final in Lima, sealing “the automatic Pan Am Cup qualifying spot”.[7]

PAHF also runs Junior Pan American championships; its site headlined its latest report “Leoncitas reclaim Junior Pan Am title as Chile edge Uruguay for Bronze”.[2] For the 2026 World Cups, the FIH’s system took one quota from the Pan American Cup 2025, linking the event to the FIH Hockey World Cup.[5]

Who are its members?

PAHF’s members are the FIH’s national associations in the Americas. The FIH’s members page lists the Pan American Hockey Federation among its five continental federations and, among its national member associations, Argentina, Canada, Chile, Cuba, Mexico, the United States, Trinidad and Tobago, Uruguay and Venezuela; it prints no total for PAHF.[1] PAHF’s own membership page and member count could not be retrieved, and no count is given here.

The FIH list runs from Canada to Argentina and takes in the Caribbean, from the Bahamas, Barbados, the Cayman Islands, Jamaica and Puerto Rico to Guyana and Suriname, and Central America from Belize to Costa Rica.[1]

Membership shows in the entry lists. The men’s Pan American Cup 2025 field included Argentina, the United States, Brazil, Uruguay, Chile, Canada and Mexico, and the 2024 men’s Pan American Challenge brought Trinidad and Tobago and Peru to the final.[6][7] PAHF’s qualification procedure for 2025 used FIH World Rankings to rank members not otherwise qualified.[4]

References

  1. FIH — Our members (five continental federations; national associations by continent). Accessed 2026-10-04.
  2. Pan American Hockey Federation — official site, home page (sections; Junior Pan American report). Accessed 2026-10-04.
  3. Pan American Hockey Federation — “Pan American Cups 2025”, 5 September 2024 (dates moved to 24 July–3 August, Montevideo). Accessed 2026-10-04.
  4. Pan American Hockey Federation — Qualification Procedure for Pan American Cups 2025 (PDF). Accessed 2026-10-04.
  5. FIH — Qualification System for 2026 FIH Hockey World Cups, updated with continental quotas 1 February 2023 (PDF). Accessed 2026-10-04.
  6. FIH Tournament Management System — Pan American Cup Men 2025, pool standings. Accessed 2026-10-04.
  7. Newsday (Trinidad and Tobago) — “Calypso Stickmen crowned champs, beat Peru 6-0 in Pan Am Challenge final”, 14 September 2024. Accessed 2026-10-04.
  8. FIH — Official documents (governance documents incl. FIH Statutes; Rules of Hockey). Accessed 2026-10-04.
  9. Panam Sports — Lima 2027 Pan American Games (dates and sports programme). Accessed 2026-10-04.