16 teams - Defending champions and hosts India, Argentina, Belgium, Canada, Chile, Egypt, France, Germany, Korea, Malaysia, Pakistan, Poland, South Africa, Spain, The Netherlands and the United States- are taking part in the tournament to be played from 24th November to 5th December.

The teams have been divided in four pools:
Pool A: Belgium, Malaysia, South Africa, Chile.
Pool B: India ,Canada, France ,Poland.
Pool C: Netherlands, Spain, Korea ,United States.
Pool D : Germany, Argentina,Pakistan,Egypt.

After five days of pool stage matches, the classification matches will be held from 30th November with the Quarter Finals to be played on 1st December, Semi Finals on 3rd and the title clash will be played on 5th December.

The quadrennial tournament will be telecast-only affair as it has been decided to hold it under closed-doors,, Hockey India said in a media release.

While the stadium will only be open to accredited personnel and the participants of the tournament, the fans can tune in and cheer for their favourite teams and players, across platforms around the world for all games, it said.

Social distancing is a priority due to the prevailing Covid-19 pandemic situation and the safety of the fans and athletes needs to be prioritised.

For the organisers, it is imperative to hold the tournament in an environment where health and safety of the participating teams is of paramount importance.

In view of the popularity of the sport in this region and expected crowds in the stadium, the organisers believe it would not be possible control that number of people and yet follow all the necessary covid guidelines and protocols laid out by the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare (MOHFW), Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, State Government, FIH and Hockey India, the release added.