The International Hockey Federation (FIH) governing body has secured a four-year partnership with sportswear giant NIKE.

The agreement will see Nike supply equipment to officials and umpires during the contract, as it did during the recent FIH Hockey Junior World Cups and Hockey Pro League mini-tournament.

As part of the deal, Nike said it will support FIH’s efforts to keep growing women’s hockey worldwide and explore ways to expand the partnership to boost youth participation.

FIH president Tayyab Ikram said: “The brand's global scale, presence, and reputation propels hockey into a dimension that certainly allows us to look to the future with even more optimism.

“Nike's commitment to young people and women in particular is perfectly in line with the FIH's values of gender equality, diversity, and inclusion. I am convinced that the signing of this partnership marks the beginning of a long-lasting, fruitful, and mutually beneficial collaboration.”

The deal comes a day after the FIH announced a new four-year media rights agreement with Indian broadcaster Viacom18 to 2027 covering all FIH events except for the Nations Cup tournament.

Other rights agreements the FIH has struck this month include UK public broadcaster the BBC and US national network CBS covering the Olympic qualifiers.