THE ELITE CLUB CHALLENGE - Road To World Cup
16–19 July 2026
South Africa’s Most Watched Club Hockey Tournament Returns! On Durban’s Biggest Hockey and Rugby weekend of the year.
#ECC2026 takes place four weeks before the Hockey World Cup and forms part of Durban’s biggest hockey and rugby weekend of the year, alongside the Springbok versus Wales Test at Kings Park, turning the city into a powerhouse of sport and celebration.
The ELITE CLUB CHALLENGE
2026 Road To World Cup Edition
The Elite Club Challenge 2026 – Road To World Cup Edition hits Riverside Hockey Club from 16–19 July, delivering four days of elite, high-intensity hockey just weeks before the global stage.
Set in Durban North, the tournament is South Africa’s most-watched elite club hockey event. It aligns perfectly with a blockbuster sporting weekend as the Springboks take on Wales at Hollywoodbets Kings Park Stadium. Rather than competing, ECC 2026 amplifies the moment, giving fans even more reason to be in Durban and part of the action over the weekend.
Following a thrilling 2025 edition, with Central Hockey Club completing a historic three-peat and WPCC lifting the women’s title, the stage is set for new challengers, fierce rivalries, and standout performances.
South Africa’s best. One stage. One unforgettable weekend.
#ECC2026 #RoadToWorldCup #MoreThanHockey #EliteClubChallenge
Follow the full Elite Club Challenge story in our official digital magazine and event programme
The Legacy Clubs
The Elite Club Challenge 2026 – Road To World Cup Edition hits Riverside Hockey Club from 16–19 July, delivering four days of elite, high-intensity hockey just weeks before the global stage.
Set in Durban North, the tournament is South Africa’s most-watched elite club hockey event. It aligns perfectly with a blockbuster sporting weekend as the Springboks take on Wales at Hollywoodbets Kings Park Stadium. Rather than competing, ECC 2026 amplifies the moment, giving fans even more reason to be in Durban and part of the action over the weekend.
Following a thrilling 2025 edition, with Central Hockey Club completing a historic three-peat and WPCC lifting the women’s title, the stage is set for new challengers, fierce rivalries, and standout performances.
South Africa’s best. One stage. One unforgettable weekend.
#ECC2026 #RoadToWorldCup #MoreThanHockey #EliteClubChallenge
division
LADIES & MENS
Challenge and Qualifiers
RHIINO-TURF ECC 2025
THE NEXT GENERATION
16 – 19 JULY 2025
For the first time, the Elite Club Challenge will feature an U19 Girls Schools fixture as a curtain raiser to the main tournament. Played under lights on Riverside Turf 1, brought to you by SPAR, and broadcast on SuperSport Schools, the match showcases some of KZN’s brightest young hockey talent.
Built on a long-standing commitment to strengthening South Africa’s national hockey pipeline, the Elite Club Challenge has always focused on creating high-performance environments at club level. Yet one challenge remains clear: ensuring talented players stay engaged in the game as they transition from school hockey into the senior club system.
This year, the tournament closes that gap.
Performance Driven
By placing top school teams directly into an elite club environment just weeks before the country’s World Cup preparation phase, young players gain a rare opportunity to experience the pace, pressure and expectations of the next level before they arrive there.
The fixture brings together two of KwaZulu-Natal’s leading girls’ hockey schools, selected for their consistent excellence, competitive standards and ability to perform at the highest level of the school game. It is a fitting addition to a tournament renowned for showcasing the very best of South African club hockey.
#ECC2026 #RoadToWorldCup #MoreThanHockey #EliteClubChallenge #mySPAR
This Isn’t An Exhibition. It’s A Statement
Our Lady of Fatima takes to Riverside’s home turf, while St Mary’s School brings a strong hockey tradition and a close connection to Kearsney Hockey Club, one of the Elite Club Challenge’s perennial participants since the inception of the event.
clubs. Together, they represent the strength of the province’s hockey development pathway and the future of the game.
With 24 elite club teams competing and national coverage on SuperSport Schools, this 30-minute curtain-raiser gives young players a firsthand glimpse of elite competition and the pathway beyond the school game.
Follow the full Elite Club Challenge story in our official digital magazine and event programme
CATCH ALL THE ACTION - LIVE ON SUPERSPORT SCHOOLS
Fuelling Hockey Dreams. One Partnership At A Time!
Launched in 2013 the Elite Club Challenge was created to provide a national, high-performance platform for South Africa’s top non-tertiary hockey clubs.
This years Rhino-Turf Elite Club Challenge promises to be an action-packed event of world-class legacy clubs, rising stars, and an energy you won’t find anywhere else, it’s time to witness a new chapter unfold.
RHIINO-TURF ECC 2025
FIXTURES
16 – 19 JULY 2025
COMING SOON
Challenge
Qualifiers
