Question: Why the #FIHProLeague?
Thierry Weil: Why the #FIHProLeague ? Because in 2014 there was a claim been made and a mission being given to have a hockey revolution. Is it a revolution or is it an evolution? For me, it is more of an evolution than a revolution but what we need to do is bring hockey to people and bring hockey to people at home. So, that’s why the #FIHProLeague was planned with some of the best teams around the world playing home and away games and what is attractive is definitely the home games, when you have the home team playing some of the best teams in the world.
Q: How is it different from how hockey has been played before?
TW: #FIHProLeague means there will be home games, away games over six months which will completely change the picture for our broadcasters and our commercial partners. That’s what they asked for to get a longer period of hockey on TV on a worldwide basis and definitely to get these attractive home games. Every game which is played is a home game and that makes it extremely attractive.
Q: Can you tell us about the scale of the TV operations?
TW: The scale of the TV production is something which was never done before in FIH. So, in the last four years we had 17 venues to set-up and to manage and only in 2019 we will have 31 venues where we will have to manage and set-up. Therefore the TV production will be massive. We will be around in 135 countries around the world with the #FIHProLeague, with a lot of live games, which is not that often in hockey that you have that many live games. So that all brings it up to a completely different level.
Q: How important was it to spread #FIHProLeague across different venues?
TW: This is like showcasing the sport to many people and it’s like how other sports do it, they travel with national teams in different venues to bring it to different areas of the country. If you take Australia, it is that big as a country that if you travel to different venues then you showcase the sport in different venues around those countries as well. One goal of FIH is to increase participation and fan base, so bringing hockey to people is very important.
Q: What is the role of FIH.live in achieving your expectations?
TW: Quite often today people who are interested in hockey have difficulties to know when will be the game shown and on which channel can you see it. Therefor FIH Live will permit people to watch every game and they know where to go and how to watch it and when to watch it. They can watch it in live and they can also watch it later on in highlights or in full so that will make a huge difference in terms of accessibility for people to watch the games.
Q: Can hockey fill in international stadiums?
TW: I was amazed that a couple of weeks ago I got a book from England in which they showed a report about this famous hockey game, which was held in Wembley every year in England, until 1991, with 65,000 school girls in the stadium, the Queen being there, the Queen coming to the stadium. So, I always say our vision is to come back to what we had in the past and that will be phenomenal. I want to fill again Wembley one day with hockey.
Q: How can #FIHProLeague help in achieving FIH’s goals?
TW: The #FIHProLeague will be the way to this, #FIHProLeague will be attracting because what we need is regular games on TV over a certain period and not just an event now for three weeks and one and a half years later another event. We need regular ones. And as you know people want to go when you have a sold-out game. That’s what attracts people. #FIHProLeague will achieve this, #FIHProLeague will have packed stadiums because currently our hockey stadiums are quite small and they will be packed. And the more they will be packed, the more we will have to look into moving into rugby stadiums or other stadiums and bringing a temporary hockey pitch in there and using bigger facilities. Once we start to do this, this will go around. The atmosphere is great in a hockey game!
Q: Where do you see #FIHProLeague in five years?
TW: #FIHProLeague in five years will have developed because as you know when you are planning something new like the #FIHProLeague, you will learn by doing. We will monitor what we do, we will allow ourselves to adapt and make changes to the #FIHProLeague and for me in five years time, it will be a league, which is on a world-wide basis really well-known, respected and which all the lower countries in hockey will aspire to participate into.
