Willars, a member of the English teams that finished third in the men's hockey tournaments at Glasgow 2014 and Gold Coast 2018, said he was "sad" to call time on his career but is looking forward to the "next chapter".

The 30-year-old has set up a company called Give & Go, which is set to provide a personalised mentoring and coaching experience to help aspiring young hockey players. 

"There’s a tinge of sadness to leave," Willars said.

"I've made a lot of good friends over the years and worked with some great coaches. 

"So there’s that but actually I also feel a real excitement about what’s next and moving onto the next chapter. 

"I do feel some sadness but there's also a lot of happiness and fond memories of everything I’ve experienced throughout my career."

Willars also won a bronze medal at the European Hockey Championship and was part of the England team that claimed third place in the 2012-2013 edition of the now defunct Hockey World League.

He said he had spoken with Danny Kerry and decided now was the best time to step away to allow the head coach to focus on players who will represent Britain at this year's postponed Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.

"With COVID-19 and everything that’s going on, the team haven’t had as many games as they’d like and it’s best for them to focus on those that Danny wants to take with him to Tokyo and unfortunately I didn’t fall into that category," Willars added.

"It’s sad but at the end of the day I want the team to do the best they can do and I can look back on the last eight years with a lot of happiness and a lot of proud moments."