New Zealand will host one of hockey's biggest tournaments, the FIH 2011 Men's Champions Trophy, in December.
India was due to host the event, but last week the International Hockey Federation confirmed that they had withdrawn the rights because of problems with the governance of hockey in India.
With a cumulative television audience estimated at 38 million, it is the first time that New Zealand has held an international hockey event of this scale.
The tournament is for the top eight teams in the world and will be hosted at the North Harbour Hockey Stadium in Auckland from 3-11 December.
In world ranking order, the teams competing are Australia, Netherlands, Germany, England, Spain, Korea, New Zealand and Pakistan. There will be 24 matches, with each team participating in six games.
New Zealand earns a place to compete as host nation and will no longer compete at the 2011 Champions Challenge in South Africa, in December.
