Early date for World Cup appeal

Hockey: The Irish women's hockey team should know its World Cup qualifying fate significantly earlier than expected following yesterday's announcement that the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) will hear Ireland and Lithuania's appeal against the November ruling of the International Hockey Federation (FIH) in London on Friday week.

Both associations received just 10 days' notice for the hearing, having anticipated that it would not take place until the end of February at the earliest. The FIH had asked CAS to hasten the arbitration process "in order that a decision be made as early as possible" to resolve the thorny issue of which two teams - from Ireland, Lithuania, India and the United States - qualify for the World Cup.

The arbitrators for the hearing have yet to be announced.