Hockey has 2 billion fans worldwide (Topend Sports). That’s more than basketball and nearly as many as cricket. Yet, unlike those sports, hockey struggles to generate revenue. While football, cricket, and even table tennis secure lucrative sponsorships and billion-dollar TV deals, hockey is left behind.
Why does a sport with such a massive following fail to capitalize financially?
| Sport | Governing Body | Fans | Revenue (USD) | Source |
| Football | FIFA | 4.0B | 1.1B (2023) | FIFA Report |
| Cricket | ICC | 2.5B | 869M (2023) | ICC Report |
| Basketball | FIBA | 2.4B | 62M (2022) | FIBA Report |
| Tennis | ITF | 1.5B | 102M (2023) | Sportcal |
| Volleyball | FIVB | 1.0B | 68M (2022) | FIVB Report |
| Table Tennis | ITTF | 0.9B | 36.8M (2022) | ITTF Article |
| Field Hockey | FIH | 2.0B | 19M (2023) | FIH Report |
Why Revenue Matters
Money isn’t just about profits—it fuels a sport’s future. More revenue means better facilities, grassroots development, and global expansion. Without strong financial backing, hockey lags behind sports that continuously improve their marketing, sponsorships, and viewer experience.
The Major Reasons Behind Hockey’s Financial Struggles
Limited Corporate Sponsorship
Hockey has a sponsorship problem. When current FIH president Taiyab Ikram ran for office, he openly said his goal was to seek government funding. That statement alone highlights the issue—hockey isn’t attracting enough corporate sponsors.
A quick look at FIH’s partner page proves this. FIH has only 8 sponsors, while ITTF (table tennis) has 33 sponsors—despite having half the number of fans. This lack of corporate investment means less money for development, marketing, and tournament expenses.
TV Deals & Broadcasting Reach
TV deals bring in big money for most major sports. But hockey? It struggles to get solid broadcasting contracts.
Fans face a constant challenge—finding a way to watch games live. Unlike football or cricket, which sign billion-dollar TV rights deals, hockey hasn’t figured out a successful broadcast strategy. FIH launched its own platforms, FIH Live and Watch.Hockey, but neither gained traction. While the FIH has partnerships with Disney+, ESPN, and JioCinema, the revenue hasn’t matched expectations.
Read More: FIH’s New Streaming Partner
| Governing Body | Media Revenue |
| FIH | $7.8 million (2023) |
| FIVB | $68 million (2023) |
| ITTF | $11.8 million (2022) |
Even in Europe, where hockey has a strong following, premium events like the Euro Hockey League (EHL) remain expensive for global fans. The high cost of international streaming makes it even harder for new fans to engage. Fans from countries with lower per capita GDP are often priced out of watching these tournaments.
Low Commercial Appeal of Tournaments
Hockey has plenty of tournaments—FIH alone runs 10 official events—but they lack commercial value compared to other sports.
Look at cricket’s T20 leagues, football’s Champions League, or basketball’s NBA—all of them are designed for maximum fan engagement and sponsorships.
Hockey’s biggest tournaments, like the FIH Pro League, struggle to attract audiences and sponsors. The EHL is a great competition, but it’s mostly watched in Europe. Outside of that, only hardcore fans even know it exists.
Geographic Limitations
This might be the biggest reason for hockey’s financial struggles. Unlike football or basketball, hockey is only popular in a few regions.
Every major sport aims to break into the U.S. market—the world’s biggest commercial sports economy.
- Football: A global sport, present in nearly every country.
- Cricket: Found its way into the U.S. with the 2024 T20 World Cup.
- Hockey: Struggles to expand beyond India, the Netherlands, and Australia.
Even when the FIH Pro League hosted games in the U.S., stadiums were nearly empty. According to Statista, only 7% of Americans followed hockey in Q4 2023 (based on survey). That’s an alarmingly low number for a sport trying to grow globally.
Not Optimized for TV
Hockey is hard to follow on TV.
- The game is fast-paced, making it difficult for new fans to track the ball.
- The rules are complex, which confuses casual viewers.
- Broadcasters tested more cameras and better angles, but the cost of production skyrocketed. So, they dropped those plans.
Hockey was the first sport to innovate—it moved from grass to astroturf, introduced video referrals before VAR and Hawk-Eye. But these innovations haven’t made a huge impact because they do nothing for fans.
Cricket revolutionized the game with T20 and the T20 World Cup. Meanwhile, hockey introduced Hockey 5s, but it hasn’t even convinced its own associations to take the format seriously.
The Path Forward
Hockey has the fan base, the history, and the excitement to be a major sport, but it struggles to capitalize on these strengths. To bridge the financial gap, the sport needs a multi-pronged approach:
- Fix broadcasting issues- This will go a long way to have sustained fan engagement
- Tournament restructuring to enhance commercial appeal and global engagement. FIH Pro League has hit the pockets of all participating nations, time to ease the burden here.
- Aggressive expansion into new markets, especially North America.
- Innovative broadcasting solutions to make hockey more TV-friendly. Implement open-mic systems for umpires, streaming their dialogue to audiences for immediate context on calls and game regulations.
If FIH and national associations can tackle these issues, hockey has the potential to unlock new revenue streams and finally convert its global following into financial success. Until then, it will continue to punch below its weight in the sports economy.
