The Argentina women's national field hockey team ( es, Selección femenina de hockey sobre césped de Argentina, links=no) is governed by the

Argentine Hockey Confederation The Argentine Hockey Confederation ( es, Confederación Argentina de Hockey) is the official governing body of field hockey in Argentina. It governs the men's and the women's national teams and club competitions "Liga Nacional de Hockey" (LNH) and ...

(CAH). The current coach is Fernando Ferrara, who was appointed after Carlos Retegui let go in late 2021. The team is currently second in the

FIH Women's World Ranking The FIH Women's World Rankings is a ranking system for women's national teams in field hockey. The teams of the member nations of International Hockey Federation (FIH), field hockey's world governing body, are ranked based on their game results. The ...

. ''Las Leonas'' (The Lionesses) have appeared in six Hockey World Cup finals, including the first final in 1974, which they lost 1–0 to the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

. Argentina had to settle with second place in two more finals before winning the tournament for the first time in

2002 File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...

, beating the Netherlands 4–3 in the final on penalty strokes after a 1–1 draw. Argentina, led by eight-time FIH Player of the Year Luciana Aymar won again in

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

, a 3–1 victory over the Netherlands. Argentina's World Cup-winning coaches are Sergio Vigil in 2002 and Carlos Retegui in 2010. Argentina has been very successful at the

Summer Olympics The Summer Olympic Games (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques d'été), also known as the Games of the Olympiad, and often referred to as the Summer Olympics, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The ina ...

, winning four consecutive medals (two silver, two bronze) since the 2000 edition, when they became the first women's team in any sport to win an Olympic medal for their country. Luciana Aymar is the only player that has participated and won those four medals. Also, after their first title in

2001 The September 11 attacks against the United States by Al-Qaeda, which killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror, were a defining event of 2001. The United States led a multi-national coalition in an invasion of Afghanist ...

at a

Hockey Champions Trophy The Hockey Champions Trophy (HCT) was an international field hockey tournament held by the International Hockey Federation (FIH). History Founded in 1978 by Pakistan's Air Marshal Nur Khan and the Pakistan Hockey Federation, it featured the wo ...

, they have won the tournament six more times. In front of a home crowd, they won the 2014–15 Hockey World League as the first international title after Aymar's retirement from the national team the previous year. At a continental level, Argentina has dominated and won every tournament they played, including the Pan American Cup and the

Pan American Games The Pan American Games (also known colloquially as the Pan Am Games) is a continental multi-sport event in the Americas featuring summer sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The competition is hel ...

leaving the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

with second place on most events until they lost the 2011 Pan American Games final for the first time. In July 2003, after the implementation of an official World Ranking System, Argentina reached the top of the

for the first time, reaching it again in 2010 after obtaining the World Cup title and once more in late 2013.

History

Hockey was introduced in Argentina by English immigrants at the beginning of the 20th century, and the first women's teams were officially formed in 1909. In 1997, Sergio Vigil, a former player for the men's national team, was appointed coach. Under his leadership, ''Las Leonas'' achieved their first

World Hockey Cup The Men's FIH Hockey World Cup is an international field hockey competition organised by the International Hockey Federation (FIH). The tournament was started in 1971. It is held every four years, bridging the four years between the Summer O ...

title, their first

Olympic Olympic or Olympics may refer to Sports Competitions * Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896 ** Summer Olympic Games ** Winter Olympic Games * Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece bet ...

medals, their first Champions Trophy medals, and many other achievements. The team went from having a rather limited audience to becoming a national sensation, with some of the players even appearing as models in advertising campaigns.

Nickname

Throughout its history, the team has developed a reputation for being tenacious even when a match appears to be lost. For this reason, a

lion The lion (''Panthera leo'') is a large cat of the genus '' Panthera'' native to Africa and India. It has a muscular, broad-chested body; short, rounded head; round ears; and a hairy tuft at the end of its tail. It is sexually dimorphic; adu ...

ess was chosen as their symbol when the team qualified for the

2000 Summer Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad and also known as Sydney 2000 ( Dharug: ''Gadigal 2000''), the Millennium Olympic Games or the Games of the New Millennium, was an international multi-sport event held from ...

. During the second round of games, Argentina played against the powerful Dutch team, and they chose this occasion to place the image of a lioness on their shirts for the first time. The image was designed by then-player Inés Arrondo together with Vigil's sister-in-law. Argentina won that match, went on to win the silver medal, and ''Las Leonas'' were born. Subsequently, the junior (under 21) team is called '' Las Leoncitas'' ("the baby lionesses" or "the lioness cubs"). The lioness logo was redesigned in 2006 by the team kit supplier,

Adidas Adidas AG (; stylized as adidas since 1949) is a German multinational corporation, founded and headquartered in Herzogenaurach, Bavaria, that designs and manufactures shoes, clothing and accessories. It is the largest sportswear manufacture ...

, along with Confederación Argentina de Hockey and even some of the most representative players. This is slightly different from the original, showing the lioness' tail pretending to be a hockey stick while holding a ball. The nickname also falls in line with an unwritten Argentine tradition of naming national teams after big cats: the men's

field hockey Field hockey is a team sport structured in standard hockey format, in which each team plays with ten outfield players and a goalkeeper. Teams must drive a round hockey ball by hitting it with a hockey stick towards the rival team's shooting ...

team is called '' Los Leones'' ("The Lions"), the men's

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In it ...

team is called '' Los Pumas'' ("The Pumas"), and the women's

volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Sum ...

team is known as '' Las Panteras'' ("The Panthers").

Honours

Since its breakthrough in the

(where the team nicknamed ''"Las Leonas" for the first time), Argentina has won more than 20 official titles, which are detailed below: Argentina 2016 CT Champions (27852970981)

Argentina 2016 CT Champions (27852970981)

: ** Silver medal: Sydney 2000,

London 2012 The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, th ...

, Tokyo 2020 ** Bronze medal:

Athens 2004 The 2004 Summer Olympics ( el, Θερινοί Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες 2004, ), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad ( el, Αγώνες της 28ης Ολυμπιάδας, ) and also known as Athens 2004 ( el, Αθήνα 2004), ...

, Beijing 2008 * World Cup:

FIH Pro League FIH Pro League may refer to: *Men's FIH Pro League The Men's FIH Pro League is an international men's field hockey competition organised by the International Hockey Federation (FIH), which replaces the Men's FIH Hockey World League. The competit ...

: 2021–22 * FIH Hockey World League: 2014–15 * Champions Trophy:

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; Protests ...

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gat ...

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wa ...

, 2016 * Pan American Cup:

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight ...

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fa ...

, 2017, 2022 *

: 1987, 1991, 1995,

1999 File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shoot ...

2003 File:2003 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The crew of STS-107 perished when the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated during reentry into Earth's atmosphere; SARS became an epidemic in China, and was a precursor to SARS-CoV-2; A ...

2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple Inc., Apple's first iPhone (1st generation), iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakis ...

, 2019 * South American Championship: 2003, 2008,

* South American Games:

2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro votes to declare independence from Serbia; The 2006 ...

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...

Tournament records

Players

Current squad

The following players were called to compete against

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It ...

and

at the Pro League between 14 – 18 December in

Santiago del Estero Santiago del Estero (, Spanish for ''Saint-James-Upon-The-Lagoon'') is the capital of Santiago del Estero Province in northern Argentina. It has a population of 252,192 inhabitants, () making it the twelfth largest city in the country, with a surf ...

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest ...

. ''Players, caps and goals updated as of 18 December 2022.'' Head coach: Fernando Ferrara

Recent call-ups

These players were called-up in the last 12 months.

Past players

Gabriela Aguirre Gabriela Aguirre (born 19 February 1986) is an Argentine field hockey midfielder and part of the Argentina national team. She was part of the Argentine team at the 2016 Summer Olympics ) , nations = 207 (including IOA and EOR teams) , at ...

Magdalena Aicega María Magdalena Aicega Amicarelli (born November 1, 1973 in Buenos Aires) is a retired field hockey player from Argentina, who won the silver medal at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia and the bronze medal ...

* Laura Aladro * Mariela Antoniska * Inés Arrondo * Luciana Aymar * Noel Barrionuevo * Moira Brinnand *

Claudia Burkart Claudia Inés Burkart (born February 22, 1980 in Buenos Aires) is a field hockey player from Argentina who won the bronze medal with the national team at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens and at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. Claudia has ...

* Victoria Carbó * Julieta Castellán * Martina Cavallero * Laura del Colle * María Colombo *

Silvia Corvalán Silvina ("Silvia") Corvalán Mayoral (born October 15, 1973) is a retired female field hockey defender from Argentina. She was a member of the Women's National Team that competed at the 1996 Summer Olympics, after having won the gold medal the p ...

Silvina D'Elía María Silvina D'Elía (born 25 April 1986) is an Argentine field hockey player. At the 2012 Summer Olympics, she competed for the Argentina national field hockey team. Silvina won the 2010 World Cup, five Champions Trophy, the silver medal at t ...

* Marina di Giacomo * Natalí Doreski * Carla Dupuy * María Paz Ferrari *

Andrea Fioroni Andrea Paula Fioroni (born January 11, 1969) is a retired female field hockey player from Argentina. She was a member of the Women's National Team that finished in seventh place at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Korea. A year earlier ...

* Julieta Franco *

Anabel Gambero Anabel Gambero Erdozain (born July 9, 1972) is a former field hockey defender from Argentina, who won the silver medal with the women's national team at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the sta ...

Soledad García Agustina Soledad "Sole" García (born June 12, 1981) is a retired Argentine field hockey player. She won the silver medal with the national field hockey team at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney and the bronze medal at the 2004 Summer Olympic ...

* Julia Gomes Fantasia *

Mariana González Oliva Mariana Alejandra González Oliva Gulla (born March 12, 1976 in Buenos Aires) is an Argentine retired field hockey player, who twice won a bronze medal with the national women's hockey team at the Summer Olympics in 2004 and 2008, the World Cu ...

* Victoria Granatto * Alejandra Gulla *

Agustina Habif Agustina Paula Habif (born 8 March 1992) is an Argentine field hockey player. At the 2014 Champions Trophy she won her first gold medal with the Argentina national team in an international tournament. Agustina also won the 2014–2015 World L ...

* Florencia Habif *

María de la Paz Hernández María "Maripi" de la Paz Hernández (born January 11, 1977, in Buenos Aires) is a retired field hockey player from Argentina, who won the silver medal with the national women's hockey team at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney and bronze med ...

* Marcela Hussey * Priscila Jardel * Giselle Juárez * Giselle Kañevsky * Gabriela Liz * Marisa López *

Rosario Luchetti Rosario Luchetti (born 4 June 1984) is an Argentine field hockey player, who won the bronze medal at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing and the silver medal at the 2012 Olympic Games in London with the Argentina national women's hockey team. ' ...

* Sofía Maccari * Sofía MacKenzie * Laura Maiztegui *

Mercedes Margalot María Mercedes "Mechi" Margalot (born June 28, 1975 in Buenos Aires) is a retired field hockey player from Argentina, who won the silver medal with the national field hockey team at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney. Fo ...

Karina Masotta Paula Karina Masotta Biagetti (born March 5, 1971 in Buenos Aires) is a retired field hockey player from Argentina, who won the silver medal with the national field hockey team at the 2000 Summer Olympics. She also won the Champions Trophy in ...

Delfina Merino Delfina Merino (born 15 October 1989) is an Argentine field hockey player. At the 2012 Summer Olympics, she competed for the Argentina national field hockey team and the team achieved the silver medal; at the 2020 Summer Olympics, she was part ...

* Laura Mulhall * Florencia Mutio * Vanina Oneto * Alejandra Palma * Gabriela Pando * María Gabriela Pazos *

Carla Rebecchi Carla Rebecchi (born 7 September 1984) is an Argentine field hockey player who won the bronze medal at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing and the silver medal at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London with the Argentina national field hockey team ...

* Marcela Richezza *

Jorgelina Rimoldi Jorgelina Rimoldi Puig (born October 6, 1971) is a field hockey player from Argentina, who won the silver medal with the national women's hockey team at the 2000 Summer Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII ...

* Micaela Retegui * Macarena Rodríguez *

Cecilia Rognoni María Cecilia Rognoni (born December 1, 1976 in Buenos Aires) is a retired Argentine field hockey player, who won the 2002 World Cup in Perth, Australia where she was elected as the best woman hockey player in the world by the FIH. She is cur ...

* Pilar Romang *

Mariana Rossi Mariana Rossi (born 2 January 1979 in Vicente López, Buenos Aires, Vicente López, Buenos Aires) is an Argentine field hockey player, who won a bronze medal with the Las Leonas, national women's hockey team at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing ...

Mariné Russo Mariné Russo (born January 9, 1980 in Quilmes) is a retired field hockey player from Argentina who won the bronze medal at the 2004 and 2008 Summer Olympics with the Argentina national team. Mariné also won two World Cups (2002 and 2010), fou ...

* Gabriela Sánchez * Mariela Scarone * Daniela Sruoga * Josefina Sruoga * Ayelén Stepnik * Belén Succi * María Alejandra Tucat *

Paola Vukojicic Paola Vukojicic ( sr, Paola Vukojičić, Паола Вукојчић; born August 28, 1974) is a retired field hockey goalkeeper from Argentina, who won the silver medal with the national women's hockey team at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney ...

Victoria Zuloaga María Victoria Zuloaga Arcodia (born 14 February 1988) is an Argentine field hockey player. At the 2011 Champions Trophy and 2011 Pan American Games The 2011 Pan American Games, officially the XVI Pan American Games, was an international ...

Not in use jersey numbers

When Luciana Aymar (eight-time FIH Player of the Year Award winner and regarded as the best player in the history of the sport), retired from the national team in 2014 after 376 international matches played, some of Aymar's teammates (such as

) asked the Confederation for the retirement of her iconic number 8 worn by her during 17 years with the national team.Rebecchi pidió retirar la camiseta número 8
Télam, 8 Dec 2014 Nevertheless, the number is not officially retired by the CAH, although it has not been assigned to other players since.

Captains

Coaches

Gallery

File:2_AG-ARGENTINA_AUSTRALIA.jpg,

in a match against

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...

in 2005 File:HOCKEY.jpg,

in a match against Nederlands in 2005 File:Argentina_v_Netherlands_WCT_2010_Final_535.jpg, Celebrating their win after the 2010 Champions Trophy final. File:Las Leonas (2010).jpg, The 2010 World Champion squad File:Argentina 2016 CT Champions (27852970981).jpg, Champions Trophy winners in 2016

Notes

*The team alternates between light blue and black skirt/socks when using their main kit, even during the same tournament, apparently arbitrarily. For example, during the 2010 World Cup, see photos fro
Day 1
(black)

(light blue) an

(black).

References

External links

*
FIH profile
{{Navboxes colour , title = Titles , bg = gold , list1 = {{FIH Women's Hockey World Cup winners {{Women's Pan American Cup winners {{Women's FIH Champions Trophy winners Americas women's national field hockey teams