The 1979 Hockey Junior World Cup was the first edition of the Hockey Junior World Cup organized by FIH for national teams of players under the age of 21.

Pakistan won the inaugural tournament defeating West Germany 2–0 in the final.

The International Hockey Federation was looking to expand the global exposure of the game through introducing new competitions under its own organization.

France hosted the first tournament and the trophy was called the Roger Danet Challenge Cup named after the President of FIH Roger Alain Danet.

[1] The following twelve teams participated in the tournament on invitational basis.