After discussions with the 11 participating national associations, the International Hockey Federation (FIH) decided the best course of action was to extend the second edition of the competition - originally slated to run from January to June 2020 - until June next year.

Close to one third of the planned matches were completed between January and early March, before the escalating COVID-19 crisis brought the competition, like almost all major sporting events around the world, to a standstill.

Throughout this time of postponement, FIH has been liaising with all participating national associations in order to assess this ever-changing situation, the aim being to restart the playing of matches only when it is safe to do so, putting athlete welfare at the forefront of the decision-making process.

Taking into account both the latest recommendations from the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the recent announcement regarding the one year postponement of the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020, it was universally agreed that extending season two into the middle of 2021 was the appropriate course of action, giving the best possible chance for this edition of the competition to be completed while enabling FIH and all national associations to deliver on broadcast and commercial partner agreements.

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FIH will continue to closely monitor the global evolution of the COVID-19 situation and, with the safety of athletes and fans being top priority, any potential dates regarding the resumption of the competition will be announced at the appropriate time.

As part of the continuing evolution of the competition and in agreement with all participating national associations, FIH has also announced the window for season three of the FIH Hockey Pro League will be from September 2021 to June 2022.

The decision to spread the Pro League season over a longer time period will allow for greater flexibility in terms of the scheduling, reducing match congestion in the first half of the year while also helping to ensure that international hockey remains highly visible via broadcast for much of the year.

"With the world facing a health crisis like nothing in living memory, predicting a date for when the current competition will restart is almost impossible at this time," FIH chief executive officer Thierry Weil said.

"Despite the difficult circumstances, these wholly necessary discussions between FIH and the participating national associations were both positive and constructive.

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"We all believe we have found the correct path forward regarding the current edition of the FIH Hockey Pro League, giving ourselves additional time to play the matches while also relieving pressure on both the athletes and the calendar for 2021.

"Looking ahead to the remainder of the 2020-21 season and beyond, the changes that will be introduced for season three are another significant step in the evolution of this fantastic competition.

"The honest and open dialogue that we have with our national associations enables us to mould the FIH Hockey Pro League in a way that works for all and I want to place on record my personal thanks to all everyone for their efforts to find a workable solution."