Argentina women's national field hockey team

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 title, their first Olympic 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 lioness was chosen as their symbol when the team qualified for the 2000 Summer Olympics. 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, 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 team is called Los Leones ("The Lions"), the men's rugby union team is called Los Pumas ("The Pumas"), and the women's volleyball team is known as Las Panteras ("The Panthers").

Tournament records

Players

Main article: Argentina women's national field hockey squad records

Current squad

The following players were called to compete in the Pro League window against Netherlands and Germany between 10th and 14th February in Hobart, Australia.

Players, caps and goals updated as of 23 January 2026.

Head coach: Fernando Ferrara

Recent call-ups

These players were called up in the last 12 months.

Notable past players

• Magdalena Aicega
• Laura Aladro
• Agustina Albertario
• Mariela Antoniska
• Inés Arrondo
• Luciana Aymar
• Noel Barrionuevo
• Claudia Burkart
• Jimena Cedrés
• Laura del Colle
• Silvina D'Elía
• Natalí Doreski
• María Paz Ferrari
• Andrea Fioroni
• Anabel Gambero
• Soledad García
• Mariana González Oliva
• Alejandra Gulla
• Agustina Habif
• Florencia Habif
• María de la Paz Hernández
• Giselle Kañevsky
• Gabriela Liz
• Marisa López
• Rosario Luchetti
• Sofía Maccari
• Sofía MacKenzie
• Laura Maiztegui
• Mercedes Margalot
• Karina Masotta
• Delfina Merino
• Laura Mulhall
• Vanina Oneto
• Gabriela Pando
• María Gabriela Pazos
• Carla Rebecchi
• Jorgelina Rimoldi
• Macarena Rodríguez
• Cecilia Rognoni
• Mariana Rossi
• Mariné Russo
• Rocío Sánchez Moccia
• Mariela Scarone
• Daniela Sruoga
• Josefina Sruoga
• Ayelén Stepnik
• Belén Succi
• María Alejandra Tucat
• Lucina von der Heyde
• Paola Vukojicic

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

Captains

Coaches

Honours

Since its breakthrough in the 2000 Summer Olympics (where the team nicknamed ''"Las Leonas"''' for the first time), Argentina has won more than 20 official titles, which are detailed below:

• Summer Olympics:
  • Silver medal (3): Sydney 2000, London 2012, Tokyo 2020
  • Bronze medal (3): Athens 2004, Beijing 2008, Paris 2024
• World Cup (2): 2002, 2010
• FIH Pro League (1): 2021–22
• FIH Hockey World League (1): 2014–15
• Champions Trophy (7): 2001, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2012, 2014, 2016
• Pan American Cup (7): 2001, 2004, 2009, 2013, 2017, 2022, 2025
• Pan American Games (8): 1987, 1991, 1995, 1999, 2003, 2007, 2019, 2023
• South American Championship (4): 2003, 2008, 2010, 2013
• South American Games (3): 2006, 2014, 2018

Gallery

File:2_AG-ARGENTINA_AUSTRALIA.jpg|Mariné Russo in a match against Australia in 2005 File:HOCKEY.jpg|Mercedes Margalot 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 from Day 1 (black), Day 3 (light blue) and Day 6 (black).

References

References

1. {{in lang. link. (11 May 2011)
2. {{in lang. link. (19 September 2010 by DeporTEA Press, 10 August 2010.)
3. "90+10 Empresas: Adidas presentó el nuevo logo de las Leonas".
4. "Home – FIH".
5. "Pan American Cups".
6. "South American Championships".
7. "Home – FIH".
8. "Pan American Games".
9. "FIH confirms Spain men and Belgium women join Hockey Pro League". FIH.
10. "Home – FIH".
11. "Home – FIH".
12. [https://www.telegraph.co.uk/hockey/2016/03/15/top-10-greatest-field-hockey-players/luciana-aymar/ Top 10 greatest field hockey players], ''The Telegraph'', 5 January 2015
13. [http://www.thehockeyfamily.com/its-all-about-aymar-luciana-at-40/ It's all about Aymar] by Melina Gaspar, on The Hockey Family, 10 August 2017
14. [https://www.cahockey.org.ar/luciana-aymar Luciana Aymar profile] on CAH website
15. retired from the national team in 2014 after 376 international matches played, some of Aymar's teammates (such as [[Carla Rebecchi]][https://www.rosario3.com/noticias/Piden-retirar-la-camiseta-N-8-de-Luciana-Aymar-20141208-0037.html Piden retirar la camiseta Nº 8 de Luciana Aymar] on Rosario3, 8 Dec 2014
16. [https://www.telam.com.ar/notas/201412/88101-hockey-leonas-champions-trophy-aymar.html Rebecchi pidió retirar la camiseta número 8 de Luciana Aymar] on Télam, 8 Dec 2014
17. [http://www.telam.com.ar/notas/201412/88101-hockey-leonas-champions-trophy-aymar.html Rebecchi pidió retirar la camiseta número 8], Télam, 8 December 2014
18. [http://canchallena.lanacion.com.ar/1307537-el-nacimiento-de-las-leonas "El nacimiento de Las Leonas", CanchaLlena, 24 September 2010]
19. [http://old.clarin.com.ar/diario/2000/09/30/d-213435.htm "Igual son de oro", ''Clarín'', 30 September 2000]
20. [http://www.clarin.com/mision-olimpica/Leonas-van-oro-falta_0_752924850.html "Las Leonas perdieron y tuvieron que conformarse con la de plata" by Sabrina Faija, ''Clarín'', 12 August 2012]
21. ""Las Leonas son campeonas mundiales y un verdadero orgullo de la Argentina", ''Los Andes'', 11 September 2010".