Each of the continental champions from five federations and the host nation received an automatic berth. The
European federation received one extra quota based upon the
FIH World Rankings. Alongside the teams qualifying through the
Olympic Qualification Tournament, twelve teams competed in this tournament. : –
South Africa qualified but gave up their automatic berth on the premise that there weren't enough black players in the team.
Argentina took their place as the 7th ranked team at the
Olympic Qualification Tournament. : –
Australia qualified both as host and continental champion, therefore that quota was added to the ones awarded by the
2000 Men's Field Hockey Olympic Qualifier to a total of 6. ==Squads==