September 15 of this year has the potential to be a historic date. Almost 35 selected players from the U21 national team met at the Utenberg in Lucerne. The reason: the kick-off of the “FIH Hockey Men’s Junior World Cup Tamil Nadu 2025” – or “Big in India” for short.
Big in India” project launched
After their sensational victory in the EuroHockey Under-21 Championship qualifying tournament 2024 in Lausanne, the U21 team secured their ticket to participate in the FIH Junior World Cup in India. For the first time in the history of field hockey, a Swiss U21 team will take part in a World Cup.
And since July of this year, it has also been confirmed that our U21 team will face host India (eight-time Olympic champion!), Pakistan (four-time world champion!), and Chile in the preliminary round.
So it’s clear that our Helvetic Boys are going into the tournament as underdogs. That also means the boys have nothing to lose. But everything to gain.
For Jair Levie (Head of Competitive Sports and Men’s National Coach) and Thierry Grandchamp (Assistant Coach), only one thing counts: the best possible preparation and giving their best. “We still have a little over two months of preparation time. During this time, we have scheduled several training camps in Switzerland. In addition, there will be test matches against Bangladesh and Austria from October 30 to November 2, as well as an intensive week of training in the Netherlands shortly before we fly to India,“ says Jair. ”We expect the guys to be disciplined in their preparation. After all, we are facing the very big nations in field hockey. And we are representing Switzerland.”
One thing is clear: the support of family, friends, and fans is just as important. So if you want to support our “Helvetic Boys,” you can attend the training sessions, the test matches, and the team’s send-off at Zurich Airport.
More information about the FIH Junior World Cup in India: https://www.fih.hockey/events/junior-world-cup/men/fih-hockey-mens-junior-world-cup-tamil-nadu-2025-1787
We will keep you up to date on our social media channels. So: Be there, join in the excitement, fant with us. The team needs you. One Team. One Dream.
Here are the most important details:
| Wann | Was | Wo |
|---|---|---|
| 06.10.25, 20 – 22 Uhr | Stützpunkttraining | Utenberg, Luzern |
| 13.10.25, 20 – 22 Uhr | Testspiel vs. GC | Hardhof, Zürich |
| 20.10.25, 20 – 22 Uhr | Testspiel vs. HC Olten | Kleinholz, Olten |
| 27.10.25, 20 – 22 Uhr | Stützpunkttraining | Utenberg, Luzern |
| 31.10. – 02.11.25 | Testspiele vs. Bangladesch & Östereich | Utenberg, Luzern |
| 10.11. – 14.11.25 | Trainingswoche | Niederlanden |
| 22. – 23.11.25 | Lehrgang | Utenberg, Luzern |
| 24.11.25 | Abflug nach Indien | Zürich |
The preliminary round matches are also already fixed:
| Wann | Was | Wo |
|---|---|---|
| 28.11.2025, 15.30 Uhr (CET) | Vorrunde Pakistan vs. CH | Chennai |
| 29.11.2025, 13.30 Uhr (CET) | Vorrunde Chile vs. CH | Chennai |
| 02.12.2025, 15.30 Uhr (CET) | Vorrunde Indien vs. CH | Madurai |