The brains trust of world hockey is planning a new competition as well as a revised Olympic qualifying system that could make it a little easier for South Africa to get to the 2020 Games. The International Hockey Federation (FIH) is to introduce a three-tiered competition in 2019, chief executive Kelly Fairweather confirmed this week.This will replace the World Hockey League, which was introduced after the London 2012 Games.The League also doubled as a qualifying option for Rio, with teams needing to finish in the top six at the semifinals to automatically secure their spots.One problem with the League was confusion over Olympic qualifying, Fairweather said.story_article_left1Continental championships, also counting towards Olympic qualifying, were staged after the League semifinals last year, and teams that qualified in both streams were effectively removed from the League standings, resulting in the promotion of lower-ranked sides to Rio.The SA men's and women's outfits were too far behind to score from the countback.The envisaged system for 2020 appears to be similar to what was used for London 2012 - continental championships and a one-off international qualifying tournament."The framework still has to be approved by the IOC [International Olympic Committee]," Fairweather pointed out.For 2012 and 2016, the SA Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (Sascoc) has refused to accept the African qualifying avenue for hockey.That's why SA hockey, for the first time since 1992, will not be at the Olympics this year.Four years ago, after ceding the Olympic spots they had won as African champions, the SA teams went to their international qualifying tournaments. The world's top teams that had already secured their places through their continental qualifiers didn't go.In early 2012 the SA women beat India in the final of their qualifying tournament in India, while the men downed Japan in Japan.The new system will not necessarily be easy - standards are improving. The Indian women's team, beaten by SA at the 2014 Commonwealth Games, qualified for Rio through the League...