Today is a special day for the global hockey family. The first century of existence is a cause for celebration for a federation that was born in Paris, France, on 7 January 1924. 

Historians say that the sport has existed for thousands of years, with documented practices in ancient Iran, Ethiopia, Egypt and Greece, but it wasn't until 1876 that formal rules were drawn up. After a few Olympic Games, the foundations were laid with the passing of a law in the French capital on 7 January 1924. 

It was then that Paul Léautey founded the organisation, with initial members from Austria, Belgium, Czechoslovakia, France, Hungary, Spain and Switzerland.

The omission of the 1924 Paris Games may have been the catalyst for the organization to take its current form and not be merely a sport practiced under unanimous rules but without associative unification.

In the same decade, women's hockey was also gaining popularity, and in 1927, the International Federation of Women's Hockey Associations (IFWHA) was created. It wasn't until both male and female governing bodies celebrated their golden jubilees that they joined to form the current FIH in 1982.

The first men's world hockey championship was held in Spain in 1971, won by Pakistan, and the first women's world hockey championship was held in France in 1974, won by the Netherlands. Women's hockey was included in the Olympic programme in 1980, where Zimbabwe achieved the gold medal.

Artificial turf was first introduced at the 1976 Olympic Games in Montreal and has replaced natural grass in most events, especially international and elite competitions. 

The first Indoor World Cup took place in 2003 in Leipzig, Germany, and the latest format, Hockey5s, was added to the programme at the 2014 Youth Olympic Games in Nanjing, China. 

The FIH continues to grow, from the seven original members in 1924 to 140 today, representing all five continents. Hockey has been included in 24 editions of the Olympic Games and the Men's and Women's Hockey World Cup have been held 15 times.

On the occasion of the FIH centenary, International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach said: "On this significant anniversary, you can look back with great pride on 100 years of tremendous progress.