The Irish, currently ranked 17th in the world, will be joined by Chile, who are 24th, Malaysia, 14th, Russia, 20th, South Korea, sixth, and Ukraine, 31st, for the tournament, which is due to run from March 10 until 18, 2012.

The tournament was scheduled for Belgium but the men's qualifiers will now be played in Ireland as the Belgians automatically made it to London via the EuroNations Championships.

Belgium will host a women's qualifying tournament as originally planned, at which the Irish women's hockey team will compete from March 17 until 25 against Spain, Belgium, France, Russia and Mexico.

The National Hockey Stadium at University College Dublin will be the venue for the qualifying event, which will see each team play against each other, and then the top two sides going head to head for a place at the Olympics.

The chief executive of the Irish Sports Council, John Treacy, said: "Irish Hockey did a great job in winning the men's Olympic Qualifying Tournament for Ireland next March.

"As a showcase event it is a boost for the sport in Ireland.

"In addition it will give the Irish public an advance taste of London 2012 and will enhance the Irish team's opportunity to qualify for the Games."

The Irish Hockey high performance director, Dave Passmore, added: "To host the men's event is a real privilege and a fabulous opportunity for the team to highlight the progress they have made in front of home crowds and for the sport to build on the profile of the event."

Germany, the Netherlands, Pakistan, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand and Argentina, as well as hosts Britain, have already qualified for the men's hockey tournament at London 2012.

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