Gibraltar awaits a number of clubs with strong EuroHockey pedigree as both hosts Eagles and Malta’s Qormi Daikin go in search of a third successive continental gold medal.
The tournament starts on Thursdays in an eight-team format, split into two round-robin groups of four from which the top two will advance to a crossover playoff final on Sunday from which the winners will earn promotion for their country.
Eagles are in Pool A along with Floriana Young Stars (Malta), Norway’s Furuset and Hungary’s Soroksári-Olcote while Pool B has Qormi, Sweden’s Roslagens IF, Lithuania’s Šiauliai Ginstrektė and Luxembourg Hockey Club.
** To follow the live scores and other match data, click here
Men’s EuroHockey Challenge II – team by team overview
Pool A
Floriana Young Stars Hockey Club (Malta)
Qualified as: National runners-up, winners of the KO Cup competition in Malta
Floriana Young Stars return to European competition for the first time since 2019 for their sixth experience of the European stage. All of their previous competitions were in Challenge IV with their 2017 gold medal the highlight of those performances.
Despite the gap, there are still plenty of links to the 2019 vintage with 11 of the panel having played before. They recently were finalists in both the Super Coppa and the Malta Knock-Out final for 2024, a competition which they won in 2023.
Eagles Hockey Club (Gibraltar)
Qualified as: National runners-up
Eagles are looking to make it three European titles in succession on home turf having won the 2022 Challenge II and Challenge III in 2023; indeed, they also won on the rock in Challenge I in 1994 so they will hope to use that home advantage to the fullest.
Central to their challenge will be centre-midfielder Julian Lopez (23 international caps) and centre-back Gareth Henwood (35 caps). They have helped the side win both the Gibraltar league and cup titles this season.
They are unable to field five Under-17 players due to the tournament coinciding with their GCSE exams but hopefully next year they will be able to experience the moment in what should be a long Euro competing career.
Soroksári-Olcote HC (Hungary)
Qualified as: National runners-up
The Hungarian side finished off their pre-event preparations with a lively 2-2 draw against fellow title contender Építok last Sunday with András Hortobágyi and Ficzere Zsombor on the mark.
It leaves them in second place, two points off their rivals with one round of matches to be played in the competition in which Ádám Szuchy is the second highest goalscorer.
This will be their sixth European outdoor campaign and follows seventh place finishes in Challenge I in both 2022 and 2023.
Furuset Landhockeyklubb (Norway)
Qualified as: National Champions
Furuset are currently leading the Norwegian league approximately halfway into the season having won the league last September, already securing a spot in 2025’s European competition.
They will be boosted this year by Thomas Sonntag, who previously having played in the EHL with Mon and could not travel last year due to an ACL injury incurred one week before traveling.
Khidash Kiyani, Alexander Johnsen, Sebastian Skaugvoll and Shayan Shahid are players who traveled with the Norwegian national team to the Indoor European Championship as the Norwegian national team made a comeback after five years.
Andrew Grant, the previous Captain and first ever player to make the Furuset Landhockeyklubb Hall of Fame (nominated September 2023) is returning for the outdoor season after a short stint in his home country Australia over winter.
Grant says of the challenge: “We are looking forward to return to Gibraltar, we had our challenges with injuries leading up to the tournament and this is a level up compared to last year, but we will leave it all out on the pitch as always.”
Building on a strong heritage of local youth of Pakistani origin from the Furuset district in Oslo, combined with a set of ambitious international players, Furuset Landhockeyklubb has embraced the #madeinfuruset. This slogan embraces that no matter where you come from and what your background is, it is possible to reach elite sporting environments and perform at a high level.
Pool B
Roslagens IF (Sweden)
Qualified as: National Champions
Roslagens took the Swedish title last June when they closed out the title with André Amilon getting the clinching goal in their decider against Valhalla LHC. It earned them a second trip to a European outdoor club competition following up their seventh place finish in 2022 in Challenge II, also in Gibraltar.
Eleven of that panel are with the club once again as they look to try and land their first win on the continental stage.
Qormi Hockey Club (Malta)
Qualified as: National Champions
Qormi Daikin are looking to continue their fine season having won the Super Cup and the Maltese knock-out tournament with a 4-1 final win over league champions Floriana Young Stars. Kyle Micallef struck on the double while captain Steve Tanti is another one to watch this weekend.
They are among a couple of clubs this weekend looking to win a third successive Euro gold. Qormi took top spot in both 2022 and 2023 in Challenge III and so – like Eagles – are keen to add another title to their list.
Luxembourg hockey club (Luxemboug)
Qualified as: sole club in Luxembourg
One of the most cosmopolitan sides on the European circuit, their panel consists of players from England, Argentina, Belgium, Ireland, Spain, the Netherlands and Venezuela.
Federico Tanuscio is one of the driving forces at the club where he is head coach and also on the playing roster. The side play in the third tier of the Belgian national leagues where they ended in ninth place this season.
They finished in third place in Challenge II last season with a strong win over Vantaa and a draw with Swedish side SLF Mesaicos.
Šiauliai Ginstrektė (Lithuania)
Qualified as: National Champions
“We want to show good quality hockey, give all the best we can and gain a lot of experience,” is the team mantra for this weekend coming from Šiauliai Ginstrektė as they embark on their trip to Gibraltar.
They are currently leading the way in the Lithuanian championship and they feature a number of strong players from the international setup like captain and midfielder Mantvydas Pocevicius, 2023 player of the year Arna Ridlauskas, top scorer from 2023 and 2024 Povilas Sinkevicius and stand-out defender Gustas Kalasevicius.
Indeed, Ridlauskas has a great record in Gibraltar – when with Vilnius Zuvedra, he scored seven times in four games in Challenge II, including a hat trick against Roslagens IF.
