Qualification
All five confederations received quotas for teams to participate allocated by the International Hockey Federation based upon the FIH World Rankings. Those teams participated at their respective continental championships but could not qualify through it, and they received the chance to qualify through this tournament based on the final ranking at each competition.
| Dates | Event | Location | Qualifier(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7–11 November 1998 | 1998 Hockey African Cup for Nations | Harare, Zimbabwe | —1 |
| 18–29 August 1999 | 1999 EuroHockey Nations Championship | Cologne, Germany | England Russia Scotland Ukraine Lithuania Ireland France Belgium |
| 2–10 December 1999 | 1999 Hockey Asia Cup | New Delhi, India | India Japan Kazakhstan Malaysia |
| 8–18 March 2001 | 2001 Pan American Cup | Kingston, Jamaica |
—2 Canada Uruguay |
- ^1 – Kenya withdrew from participating.
- ^2 – United States withdrew from participating.
Read more about this topic: 2001 Women's Hockey World Cup Qualifier