09 Nov, 2024 Convening today in Muscat, Oman, the FIH Congress has decided to (re)introduce the Vice-President role. Meeting immediately after the Congress, the Executive Board (EB) has appointed EuroHockey President Marcos Hofmann and PAHF President Alberto “Coco” Budeisky to take on this major responsibility. Commenting on the appointments, President Tayyab Ikram said: “I’m really delighted that the Congress voted in favour of reintroducing the role of Vice President. This is the right thing to do for an organisation that is committed to good governance. I would like to congratulate Marcos and Coco for their appointment. With the next Olympics to be staged in Los Angeles in 2028, Coco is perfectly positioned to offer a strong representation of FIH in all LA28 related matters. Being at the helm at the Continental Federation of Europe, where the next FIH Hockey World Cup will be hosted (in the Netherlands and Belgium) in 2026, and thanks also to his professional background, Marcos will play a key role in our global development. With their experience, knowledge and personalities, I know that both will perfectly fulfill their mission. I very much look forward to working closely with them the way forward.”

08 Nov, 2024 Following a vote by an Expert Panel, National Associations – represented by their respective national teams’ captains and coaches – fans and media, Yibbi Jansen (Netherlands) and Harmanpreet Singh (India) have been awarded the FIH Players of the year 2024 during the gala night of the 49th FIH Statutory Congress in Oman! While Ye Jiao of China and PR Sreejesh of India won the FIH Goalkeepers of the Year awards, the awards for FIH Rising Stars went to Zoe Díaz of Argentina and Sufyan Khan of Pakistan. For the second year in a row China women’s head coach Alyson Annan (Australia) has been awarded the FIH Coach of the Year award in the women’s category, while Jeroen Delmee (Netherlands) wins the FIH Coach of the Year award in the men’s category. Sarah Wilson of Scotland and Steve Rogers of Australia won the FIH Umpire of the Year award in the women’s and men’s category respectively. FIH Best Player of the Year (voted by Expert Panel, National Associations – represented by their respective national teams’ captains and coaches -, fans and media) Women – Yibbi Jansen was a thoroughly deserving winner of the award after starring at the Paris 2024 Olympics where she led Netherlands to yet another gold medal, scoring 9 goals along the way including the leveller in the gold medal match, with less than 10 minutes to go in the match, to get her team back in the contest and eventually to the top step of the podium. At just 24, Jansen is already one of the most accomplished players in hockey and already leads the list of all-time top goal scorers in the FIH Hockey Pro League! As the performances continue to improve, sky’s the limit for the prodigiously talented Dutch drag flicker. Asked about the pivotal moment in the gold medal match at Paris 2024, Yibbi Jansen said: “First off, thank you for having me here and for this award. It has been great to meet everyone who works behind the scenes to make all the hockey events possible worldwide. The Olympic Gold was always the biggest dream of my life and this summer that dream came true. Thank you to my teammates who all worked so hard for us to make this dream a reality. With 10 minutes left in the game and trailing, it was nervous moments. But we have been working so hard for so long and we are all really close to each other, on and off the field, so we always had faith in each other that we could overturn it and win. So thanks to them for everything!” Player Fans (20%) Media (20%) NA Vote (20%) Expert Panel (40%) Final Score Yibbi Jansen (NED) 9.27 10.34 3.72 4 27.33% Gu Bingfeng (CHN) 1.10 1.03 12.74 12 26.88% Xan de Waard (NED) 4.88 4.14 2.30 12 23.31% Nike Lorenz (GER) 2.22 1.72 0.88 8 12.83% Stephanie Vanden Borre (BEL) 2.53 2.76 0.35 4 9.65% Men – Harmanpreet Singh was the standout player amongst the men’s nominees, receiving the most votes across all categories of voters. Much like Yibbi Jansen in the women’s competition, Indian captain Harmanpreet Singh led the scoring charts at the Paris 2024 Olympics with 10 goals including goals in the quarterfinal, semi-final and both goals in the bronze medal match against Spain, which India won 2-1 to secure their second consecutive podium finish at the Olympics! Harmanpreet was also a crucial cog in the Indian team that had broken their 41 year podium drought at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. He has previously won the FIH Player of the Year award on two occasions in 2020-21 and in 2021-22. The third one might just be the most precious one however, given it’s been won while leading his country for the first time, after taking over captaincy in 2023, and leading his team to an Olympic medal in his first attempt! Speaking about the celebrations back home after he captained his side to a second consecutive medal at the Olympics, Harmanpreet Singh said: “First off, I would like to thank FIH for this great honour. After the Olympics it was so great to go back home and have such huge crowds there to greet us and welcome us. It was a very very special feeling. I would like to mention my teammates, none of this would have been possible without you all. Special thanks to Hockey India as well for always giving us every opportunity to succeed at all levels. My wife and daughter are here today and receiving this award in front of them means the world to me. So thank you to everyone who made that possible!” Player Fans (20%) Media (20%) NA Vote (20%) Expert Panel (40%) Final Score Harmanpreet Singh (IND) 13.57 15 15.27 20 63.84% Joep de Mol (NED) 2.31 0.88 0.91 12 16.10% Thierry Brinkman (NED) 2.18 3.53 1.64 8 15.35% Hannes Müller (GER) 1.15 0.60 1.09 0 2.82% Zach Wallace (ENG) 0.80 0 1.09 0 1.89% FIH Goalkeeper of the Year (voted by Expert Panel, National Associations – represented by their respective national teams’ captains and coaches -, fans and media) Women – Ye Jiao has been a brick wall for China as they went from strength to strength in international hockey over the past year. Her performances at the Paris 2024 Olympics also stood out as China got to within 10 minutes of winning the gold medal, finally ending up with a remarkable silver medal, their first Olympic medal since winning silver at Beijing 2008, and only their second ever Olympic hockey medal! As she received her award, Ye Jiao said: “I would like to thank FIH for giving me this award. This is the centennial year of the FIH and to receive this award in this year is extra special. I would also like to thank those who support me, especially those back in China, my teammates, coaches and everyone who is present here today, joining

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21 Oct, 2024 As part of their first in-person global gathering since the 2018 Congress, the delegates of the 49th FIH Statutory Congress to be held in Oman (7-9 November) have been invited by the International Hockey Federation (FIH) and its President Tayyab Ikram to reflect and debate about key matters to grow hockey. The “FIH Empowerment and Engagement Forum” – named as the eponymous strategy launched by FIH President Tayab Ikram last year at the Olympic House, in attendance of IOC President Thomas Bach – will take place on 8 November. Following the FIH President’s opening address, Continental Federations and National Associations delegates from all around the world, together with representatives from FIH, will begin the session with a focus on athletes and women. With FIH implementing an “athletes first” strategy and being a firm advocate of a gender equal sport, discussions will be conducted around the question of how athletes and women can be better supported. Then, through specific workshops, further crucial topics for the development of the game will be tackled such as development, participation, communication and promotion, facilities and funding, and technology solutions. The Congress participants will also hear a number of reports and presentations. From the French Hockey Association talking about the strategy and legacy benefits from hosting the Paris 2024 Olympics, to the Belgian and Dutch Hockey Associations informing the assembly about the 2026 FIH World Cup that they’re co-hosting, the Croatian Hockey Association hosting their first-ever FIH World Cup – namely, the FIH Indoor Hockey World Cup – in February next year and finally FIH’s Global Supplier Polytan. Commenting on the upcoming Forum, FIH President Tayyab Ikram said: “Following the success of the National Associations’ summits that we’ve organised in the last 2 years, I’m very much looking forward to this Forum. Initiating a more intensive interaction between all members of our global hockey community, fostering best practice sharing and knowledge transfer, urging the biggest National Associations to support the less-privileged ones are some of the key principles that shall guide our debates. I’m a firm believer in dialogue and exchange as key facilitators to grow together. This Forum has been conceived in that spirit.” The 49th FIH Congress will take place on 9 November 2024 in Muscat, Oman, and includes a full range of side events from 7 November, such as the Empowerment and Engagement Forum. It will also enable the global hockey community to celebrate in style the FIH Centennial. Source: FIH.hockey