International hockey will be played at the Stoop next summer due to an unprecedented demand in the FIH Pro League ticket ballot.

The announcement was made to move Great Britain men and women’s matches against New Zealand to the near 15,000-capacity stadium, home of the Harlequins, to cope with the demand.

The move could see double the attendance the Lee Valley Hockey and Tennis Centre in the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park holds, the current home of GB Hockey.

Great Britain Hockey’s Sally Munday said: “We are hugely excited about the prospect of taking both of our national teams to the Twickenham Stoop. The growing demand for tickets shows that the appetite is there for a venue of this size. The FIH Pro League is a huge step forward for the sport, and we are immensely grateful to our partners for their support.”

The games will be part of the brand-new competition that sees the world’s best teams do battle home and away across the world from January until June 2019.

For the first time, nine teams (not necessarily the same teams for men and women and not necessarily the top nine ranked countries) will play a round-robin tournament with each team facing the other eight home and away in their various countries.

The games at The Stoop will be played using ground-breaking technology that will see an artificial pitch laid on top of the existing grass surface at the iconic west London stadium.

A sell out stadium would signal the biggest crowd to watch hockey in Great Britain since the London 2012 Olympics, and according to demands 12 of England’s 16 matches have been oversubscribed meaning this could be a possibility.

Thierry Weil, FIH CEO commented: “Having witnessed the electric atmosphere created during the Vitality Hockey Women’s World Cup (at Lee Valley) in London earlier this year, we can’t wait to experience nearly 15,000 fans cheering on their teams in what will be one of the biggest FIH Pro League venues in 2019.”

GB’s other 14 matches will be played at the Lee Valley Hockey and Tennis Centre.