Although the first (men's) Hockey World Cup was held in Barcelona in 1971, there were plans to organise a World Cup as early as 1938. Then, the FIH planned to host a World Cup in Amsterdam, as a substitute for the Olympic hockey tournament, which was cancelled because there was not enough accommodation in Helsinki, where the 1940 Olympics were to be held. The tournament would take place from 2 to 13 May, in the Olympic stadium in Amsterdam and the associations of, amongst others, British India (consecutive winner of the three previous Olympic tournaments), Afghanistan, Japan, Argentina, New Zealand and many European countries had declared to participate. The women's tournament would last from 8 to 12 May and four countries participated: The Netherlands, Germany, South Africa and Australia. A few months after the outbreak of World War II in January, the tournament was called off.