Anzac Day Test headlines new hockey league

Back-to-back Trans-Tasman Tests on Anzac Day will serve as landmark matches in the inaugural Hockey Pro League season.

The Hockeyroos and Kookaburras will visit New Zealand for one of the marquee match-ups in the 2019 fixture released on Wednesday.

The new men's and women's competitions will showcase 152 home-and-away matches over six months, replacing the tournament-based World League and Champions Trophy.

Australia's men's and women's teams will each play seven home matches in February and March before heading to New Zealand for the Anzac Tests.

The world No.1 Kookaburra men will then head to Argentina and Pakistan before a European swing that includes matches in England, Spain, Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands.

The world's fifth best female team, the Hockeyroos, also travel to Argentina before matches in the US, China, England, Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands.

World hockey administrators hope the new league will offer the world's top nations more chance to play games in front of home crowds and boost revenue with regular broadcasting.

"This announcement means that fans can now lock dates into their diary to ensure they don't miss any of the world's top nations visiting their home turf," International Hockey Federation president Narinder Dhruv Batra said.

India withdrew both its senior teams from the tournament last year, citing concerns about the methods of qualifying for the Olympics and World Cup.