Hoci Cymru Announce Senior Performance Squads for 2025/26 Season

Hoci Cymru is delighted to announce the 24-player squads for the senior Men’s and Women’s teams ahead of the 2025/26 international hockey season. The selections feature a strong blend of experience and youth, including four returning Olympians and several players in line for their senior debuts.

Those earning their first senior call-ups are Holly Done, Lottie Atkinson, Jamie Bulbring, and Beth Peers, signalling a bright future for Welsh hockey.

Beth Bingham will continue to lead the Women’s side as captain, while the Men’s team will be co-captained by Rupert Shipperley and Ben Francis.

The Men’s team faces a high-stakes season, starting with the FIH Hockey Nations Cup in Malaysia (15–21 June), followed by the EuroHockey Championship II in Portugal (27 July–2 August).

Olympian Gareth Furlong is on the cusp of two major milestones, set to earn his 150th cap and score his 100th international goal for Wales within the first few matches.

Men’s Head Coach Danny Newcombe expressed enthusiasm for the depth of talent:

"It was a near impossible task to narrow down our squad to 24 names. This demonstrates the depth we are building in the player group. We have a significant number of players with the level of skill and ambition required to compete at an international level for Wales. With our three Olympians returning to the group, 2025/26 is going to be a really exciting season.

2025 presents us with two major tournaments in close proximity. This will be followed by the World Cup Qualifiers in 2026. We will then have a month to reload before we head out to Portugal and compete in the EuroHockey Championships II with the ambition of qualifying for the EuroHockey Championships in London in 2027"

The Women’s team also face an exciting season, kicking off their campaign with a series of Easter weekend friendlies against Scotland, before diving into a competitive summer schedule featuring the FIH Nations Cup and European Championships.

Women’s Head Coach Kevin Johnson highlighted the squad’s balance of experience and future potential:

“This year’s senior squad selection contains an exciting mix of experience and potential. ho will look to build on their positive style of play in 2024 which saw them reach the final of the European qualifiers.

There is much to look forward to as the group will meet together for the first time in this campaign over the upcoming Easter weekend in Scotland to get underway with some training matches before the focus shifts to the FIH Nations Cup 2 and European Championships over the summer. A third of this squad are also eligible for the Junior Women's World Cup which will be held in Chile in December 2025. 

Congratulations to all those selected. Here's to a successful season ahead—bring on 2025!