The FIH said that it had received seven high quality bids from five nations who are all vying for the chance to host men's and women's showpiece events to be held simultaneoulsy.
According to a FIH statement, four official proposals to host the men's World Cup have been made, with a further three submissions being made for the women's tournament.
The National Associations of Australia, England, India, Malaysia, and New Zealand have all put extremely strong cases forward in an attempt to lure the sport's top properties to their territory, the statement added.
The FIH received official submissions from five of the original six nations that initially expressed interest earlier in the year. The next phase of the process will feature the detailed evaluation of each bid which will be followed by further discussions and clarifications with NAs as well as site visits to each country.
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The final decision will rest with the FIH Executive Board in Lausanne, Switzerland, with the winning bids being announced on November 7.
"The FIH is thrilled to have received such an excellent response from National Associations regarding the great opportunity to host Hockey World Cup events in 2018," said FIH Chief Executive Officer, Kelly Fairweather.