Following the conclusion of International Hockey Federation (FIH) Executive Board meetings in Lausanne, Switzerland last weekend, a number of key developments have been agreed highlighting the progress of the Hockey Revolution one year after launch.
During the meetings, two organisations were granted provisional membership of FIH – Bolivia (Federacion Boliviana De Hockey Sobre Cesped) and Ivory Coast (The Association Ivoirienne de Hockey).
These countries will now work towards gaining full membership at the FIH Congress to be held in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, on 12 November 2016.
In addition to that confirmation, the FIH Executive Board Members were presented with updates on the five major initiatives identified to reach the four big goals of the FIH 10 year strategy – the Hockey Revolution.
One of the major projects currently being undertaken by FIH is a review of the Event Portfolio. This has seen the Federation take a revolutionary approach to reviewing its current structure of events against some key objectives, which could lead to a significant change in the make-up of FIH events.
Following the latest presentations, a final decision on the new Event Portfolio will be made at the next FIH Executive Board meeting in April 2016. The aim is to introduce the new Event Portfolio at the beginning of 2019.
Governance was another key topic of discussion, particularly relevant in light of recent issues raised in the sports industry over recent months.
As part of the process of being an effective Board, FIH decided that an Executive Board evaluation would be undertaken every two years to assess how it was functioning and identify any issues that need addressing.
The second Executive Board evaluation took place earlier this year, with the findings presented to the Board revealing competent and transparent governance throughout all areas of the organisation.
It was also confirmed that a working group, led by FIH Board Member and International Olympic Committee Women In Sport Commission member Marijke Fleuren, will be set up to develop recommendations to improve gender equity at all levels of hockey.
This group will be tasked with ensuring the current 50-50 split of hockey athletes should be matched in all areas of the sport. Currently the FIH Executive Board has six female Members in addition to eight male Members.
Progress regarding the Foundation Board and the collaboration with The Hockey Museum was also presented along with an update on the Rio 2016 Olympic Games. This included details about the venue construction, which is progressing well ahead of the test event due to take place there between 24-28 November.
Prior to the Board meetings, Continental Federations were invited to meet with FIH between 12-13 November. They received updates on the Hockey Revolution and delivered their annual progress reports to the FIH Executive Board.
Overall, progress was seen across all five major initiatives underpinning the Hockey Revolution, which provided evidence of FIH's strong commitment to good governance.
Speaking of these meetings, FIH President Leandro Negre said: “With our 10 year strategy aimed at making hockey a global game that inspires the next generation launched just over a year ago, the FIH Executive Board is very excited to see just how far the sport has come in such a short space of time.”
He continued: “FIH is leading the way in many areas, particularly in terms of good governance and gender equality. Everyone involved in our sport should therefore be incredibly inspired by what we have achieved so far and determined to continue building upon the great work already undertaken as part of the Hockey Revolution.”
For more information about FIH’s 10 year strategy, the Hockey Revolution, click here.
Photo: FIH
