The spotlight turns to Kırklareli, Türkiye, from 28 July to 2 August 2025, as eight men’s national teams arrive with one shared goal: a place in the Men’s EuroHockey Championship II in 2027.
This is the Men’s EuroHockey Championship III 2025, the third tier of Europe’s national team structure—and it offers more than just a trophy. The top two teams will earn promotion!
The Pools
Pool A
🇺🇦 Ukraine
🇭🇺 Hungary
🇧🇬 Bulgaria
🇲🇹 Malta
Pool B
🇹🇷 Türkiye (hosts)
🇱🇹 Lithuania
🇫🇮 Finland
🇱🇺 Luxembourg
Who to Watch
- Türkiye, playing on home soil, will be eager to impress and challenge for their first-ever promotion to Championship II.
- Ukraine, traditionally a strong performer at this level, brings experience and structure to Pool A.
- Hungary and Finland have shown consistency in recent years and could mount a serious charge.
- Luxembourg, Malta, Bulgaria, and Lithuania arrive as underdogs with nothing to lose and everything to gain.
Hungary
Ukraine
Finland preview:
The Finnish men’s national field hockey team will participate in the EuroHockey Championship III tournament held in Kirklareli, Turkey, from July 28 to August 2, 2025. This will be Finland’s first European Championship tournament since hosting the event in Helsinki in 2019. The 2021 tournament was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and Finland did not participate in the 2023 edition.
In the group stage, Finland will face Lithuania, Luxembourg, and host nation Turkey. The other group includes Bulgaria, Malta, Hungary, and Ukraine. The tournament presents an important opportunity for Finnish field hockey to gain international exposure and foster development.
The new coaching leadership of the men’s national team, Elliot Steedman and Attila Farkas, assembled a 30-player training squad in December 2024 to prepare for the tournament in Turkey. Since then, the group has held monthly training camps, including an indoor hockey test match weekend against Norway in Vantaa in February. Starting in April, the squad has trained on the outdoor field at Velodromi with two-day weekend camps in April, May, and most recently on June 28–29. Following the latest camp, the coaching staff made selections for the tournament roster. The final two players will be named after the next training camp on July 12–13.
Only veteran goalkeeper Jussi Luhta, team captain Sampo Hirvioja, Aaron Lehmus, and Santeri Määttänen were part of the 2019 home tournament squad and thus bring experience at the European Championship level. The team is generally young, but the younger players have already gained international experience through various age-group national teams and club competitions.
Coach Elliot Steedman views the tournament as a significant step in the development of Finnish field hockey: “We see this tournament as a key starting point for the long-term development of Finnish field hockey. Our players will gain valuable experience on the international stage, and we will use this great opportunity to begin forming a genuine Finnish field hockey playing identity.”
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