Twelve teams competed in both the men's and women's Olympic hockey tournaments with the competition consisting of two rounds.[3] In the first round, teams were divided into two pools of six teams, and play followed the
round robin format with each of the teams playing all other teams in the pool once. Teams were awarded three points for a win, one point for a draw and zero points for a loss.[3] At the end of the pool matches, teams were ranked in their pool according to the following criteria, in order:[3]
Total points accumulated
Number of matches won
Goal difference
Goals for
The result of the match played between the teams in question
Following the completion of the pool games, teams placing first and second in each pool advanced to a
single elimination round consisting of two semifinal games, and the bronze and gold medal games.[3] Remaining teams competed in classification matches to determine their ranking in the tournament. During these matches,
extra time of 71⁄2 minutes per half was played if teams were tied at the end of regulation time. During extra time, play followed
golden goal rules, with the first team to score declared the winner. If no goals were scored during extra time, a
penalty stroke competition took place.[3]
Each of the continental champions from five federations and host received an automatic berth. The
European and
Asian federations received two and one extra quotas respectively, based upon the
FIH World Rankings at the completion of the
2006 World Cup. In addition to the three teams qualifying through the
Olympic Qualifying Tournaments, the following twelve teams, shown with final pre-tournament rankings, competed in this tournament.[6][7]
Each of the continental champions from five federations and host received an automatic berth. The
European federation received two extra quotas, while
Oceania received one extra quota, based upon the
FIH World Rankings at the completion of the
2006 World Cup. In addition to the three teams qualifying through the
Olympic Qualifying Tournaments, the following twelve teams, shown with final pre-tournament rankings, competed in this tournament.[8][9]
^1 –
China qualified both as host and continental champion; therefore, that quota was given to the
Asian federation, allowing
Japan to qualify directly for the 2008 Summer Olympics as the second-placed team at the
2006 Asian Games .