Lausanne, Switzerland: The Executive Board (EB) of the International Hockey Federation (FIH) held its first meeting of the year on 14 and 15 March at the FIH office in Lausanne, Switzerland, under the chairmanship of FIH President Tayyab Ikram who opened the meeting with congratulatory words to the EB members and the National Associations (NAs) for a very successful 2024.

Indeed, this quite exceptional year included the Centenary of FIH, the Paris 2024 Olympics, the very first FIH Hockey5s World Cup, the 49th FIH Congress, the NA Summits as well as numerous development activities and other events organized by hockey’s world governing body.

The success of the Paris 2024 Olympic tournaments was specifically underlined by IOC President Thomas Bach himself to President Ikram during their personal interaction held last week at the Olympic House in Lausanne.

The meeting continued with a detailed review of the preparations for the next edition of the FIH Hockey World Cup for Women and Men that will be hosted by Belgium and the Netherlands in 2026. A delegation from the co-hosts met with the FIH Team at the FIH office last week to discuss the main strategic and operational topics of the event.

The EB members also looked back with a lot of satisfaction at the recently completed FIH events.

The FIH Hockey Pro League has just reached its “half-time” with all teams having played their first eight matches during exciting stages held in Argentina, Australia, China, India and the Netherlands. The season will resume in June.

The FIH Indoor Hockey World Cup held in Poreč, Croatia, was the first FIH event to be played in 2025. Croatia were hosting their first-ever FIH World Cup and it was a true success.

Then, the inaugural edition of the FIH Hockey Men’s Nations Cup 2 was played in Oman. This new event, enabling teams ranked after the Nations Cup teams to play a high-level global tournament and, for the winning team, to be promoted into the Nations Cup, confirmed how much the decision to create it was right.

Last but not least in this intense month of February for international hockey, the third edition of the FIH Hockey Women’s Nations Cup was played in Chile. Another excellent event, with a vibrant crowd creating an unforgettable atmosphere and experience for all athletes.

Detailed updates were given to the Board about the upcoming events, namely the FIH Hockey Men’s Nations Cup Malaysia 2024-25 (Kuala Lumpur, 15-21 June), the FIH Hockey Women’s Nations Cup 2 Poland 2024-25 (Walcz, 16-22 June), the FIH Hockey Women’s Junior World Cup Chile 2025 (Santiago, 1-13 December) and the FIH Hockey Men’s Junior World Cup that will be played in the cities of Chennai and Madurai, India, from 28 November to 10 December 2025.

In terms of hockey development, the latest information about the FIH Empowerment and Engagement Strategy was shared, including the development grants for National Associations (NAs), as approved by the Empowerment & Engagement Committee. Grants were awarded to NAs from all five continents. They focus on a diverse range of development projects, including school hockey initiatives, national team training and competition, education for coaches, umpires and technical officials, as well as women empowerment projects. Also, an extensive application and evaluation process for NAs to benefit from a Hockey5s court has been launched.

The EB welcomed ASOIF and FEI President Ingmar de Vos as well as IOC Sports Director Kit McConnell, who’s recently been appointed as Brisbane 2032 Chief Sport Officer. It was a great interaction with key members of the Olympic movement. The FIH President thanked them for their guidance and support, and reminded how essential it is for hockey to be a strong and active member of the Olympic movement, precisely.

Concluding the meeting, FIH President Tayyab Ikram said: “I’m particularly pleased with the way the meeting went, the information shared and the spirit that prevails within this Executive Board, with everyone contributing to making our organisation and our sport every day better and bigger. I’d like to extend special thanks to Ingmar de Vos and Kit McConnell for visiting us and providing their support to the development and success of hockey. 2024 was a very successful year for hockey. This is very encouraging and a great motivation to pursue our relentless efforts to grow the game.”

The next EB meeting will be held in Amsterdam, Netherlands, on 13-14 June.

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