FIH elections in November
These next months might prove to be crucial for the future of our sport…
While the fans still celebrate (or mourn) the Netherlands taking a 3rd world cup in a row in women’s hockey… For the more engaged follower of our sport the day after was marked by the resignation of Narinder Batra as FIH president. Batra also resigned from his roles as president of the Indian Olympic Association and his membership of the IOC. He cites personal reasons, which can be translated into the recent court order in Delhi stating he was in the wrong on several accounts that secured his power in the world of sports and the ongoing corruption allegations. The national association of Hockey India is currently run by 3 independent administrators, as ordered by the court, until they manage to run elections and appointments the right way. If they do not get their house in order soon, it might even jeopardise the upcoming men’s world cup in January 2023,
But let’s not dwell on this. Let’s look forward and hope our sport can bounce back… It’s for the administrators and specialised press to investigate what went wrong and how to prevent this in the future. Both in India as on the global scene.
FIH elections
In November this year the FIH was already scheduled to run its global congress and that’s when the NA’s (= national associations) from all over the world will once again elect a president. Five other executive board seats are also up for election. So could we see a shift away from Batra & his allies again? I think it’s doubtful much would change but we can hope…
Allow me to share my wish list of priorities…
- Focus on growing the players instead of the followers
It’s not about getting more countries to have a hockey federation. It’s not about the followers on your social media. The purpose of any federation in sports should be to grow the numbers of people playing (!) the sport. And please start measuring this in a reliable way. Do not rely on power hungry administrators showing of inflated unproven numbers. - Transparency and accountability
These are obvious ones of course. In theory everyone will say they support these. In reality however… So let’s start with two simple goals regarding this. First publish all financial audited accounts for the FIH and its foundation for these last years with explanations. Before the elections. Secondly, elections can not be secret anymore… the right to a secret vote is sacred for individuals. However when you’re voting on behalf of others (as all NA administrators are) a vote needs to be in the open and accounted for. - Be a strong voice within the IOC to protect true team sports
Instead of bowing to their pressure (more medal events with less resources). True leaders do not cave for the promise of money if it corrupts our values. Help IOC remember they’re not in the entertainment business but into sports or they should be. And show the way…
If, as a side effect from all this, we could also “86” the monstrosity that is Hockey5s, I would love it obviously. We already have a traditional and a short format which fulfil all needs anyone could have to get started or continue playing hockey wherever you are in the world. The 5s format has no (as in zero) added value and makes for diluted budgets allocated to promoting the existing formats. But I’m not holding my breath on this one. Let’s first start with the 3 priorities above and the rest will follow 🙂
FIH: November Elections | Hockey World News
2022-07-18 @ 14:17
[…] by Ernst Baart – Studio Hockey […]
2022-07-18 @ 18:45
Hockey5s is here to stay whether you like it or not. After Lausanne event and the Eurohockey5s event which ended recently, it is obvious if you follow unbiased news articles about the events that Hockey5s cannot be rolled back now. It is too late for that. The two most hockey loving nations on earth , India and Netherlands have really taken a shine to the new format. Both won events recently in it. Famous veteran hockey captains like Dileep Tirkey and Zafar Iqbal hail the new format to grow hockey. At Lausanne top IOC officials visited the event. They have already seen what Hockey5s can offer, more excitement and goals at substantially lower costs. No wet turf needed, no indoor facilities needed. The IOC will be salivating at the prospects of Hockey5s. No future FIH chief can argue against that. Not now.
2022-07-18 @ 21:20
Hello,
First my apologies for not following up on our previous discussion.
Secondly for not really answering in depth on your comment here either. Because the main topic here is the choice our administrators will make regarding certain values in sports administration more than their choices for specific formats or not.
However, as you know, I would disagree with your claims:
– it is never too late to roll back a bad decision
– on what grounds would you say India and the Netherlands are the two most hockey loving nations globally
– on what grounds would you say India and the Netherlands have taken a shine to 5s. I would claim 99,9% of Dutch hockey followers never saw 1 full game of 5s
– I would be curious to learn how 5s will make our game grow in a way the existing formats could not. I do not see it…
But instead of debating back and forth here under a different topic I would suggest I reach out to you via email so we can exchange questions and thoughts on the topics of 5s and will wrote another column dedicated to this following our exchanges…