Re-elected as FIH President, Tayyab Ikram receives overwhelming support from Congress

    09 Nov, 2024 On the occasion of the 49th FIH Statutory Congress taking place in Muscat, Oman, on 9 November 2024, Tayyab Ikram was re-elected as FIH President. Reacting to his re-election, he said: “My heart is full of gratitude for the trust you’ve placed in me. Many of you have told me that a lot has been achieved in the last 2 years, and that FIH is now much closer to you. However, today, I feel that this is my first day. You’ve given me a new start! I will continue this journey. It will be a time of engagement, a time of empowerment. Athletes are, and will remain, my first priority. They need to be at the centre of everything FIH does.” Danae Andrada (URU), Alberto Daniel Budeisky (ARG) and Erik Cornelissen (NED) were re-elected and Katrin Kauschke (GER) elected as Ordinary Members of the FIH Executive Board. Before the election, Hazel Kennedy (ZAM) and Deon James Morgan (RSA) withdrew their candidature. As an additional sign confirming the steady growth of hockey worldwide, the Congress approved the application of no less than 6 new members, namely Bahrain, Chad, Curacao, Iraq, Kyrgyzstan and Senegal. This brings the overall number of FIH members to 146. In his President’s report at the beginning of proceedings, Tayyab Ikram tackled numerous key strategic priorities, such as the FIH empowerment and engagement strategy, athletes’ welfare, hockey development or events. He highlighted specifically some of the major accomplishments of FIH since the last Congress: Governance: FIH advancing in 5th ASOIF Review Events: Junior World Cup expanding to 24 teams; Nations Cup and Nations Cup 2 introduced, Hockey5s World Cup with much enhanced accessibility Engagement: National Associations Summits Commercial: Partnerships with Hero MotoCorp, Nike and Laureus Social media performance during the Olympic Games Paris 2024: 31 million video views, 225.000 new followers and 125 million impressions Sustainability: FIH winning 2024 IOC Climate Action Award Olympic Solidarity: 60+ projects totaling over USD 2 million The FIH President also announced the launch of a global mental health project for athletes, as well as the launch of athletes and development portals on FIH.hockey. Other decisions: The FIH audited accounts were submitted to Congress and subsequently approved The appointment of Eduardo Mario Guelfand (Argentina) as Judicial Commission President was ratified The recipients of Awards – including FIH Awards, FIH President’s Awards and Order of Merit, amongst others – were revealed (see full list of recipients here). At the start of today’s Congress, IOC President Thomas Bach addressed the delegates specifically, via a video message. For more information about FIH and hockey in general, please download the Watch.Hockey app or follow the FIH social media channels – Facebook, Instagram and Twitter – and website. #HockeyInvites #HockeyEquals

    Yibbi Jansen (NED) and Harmanpreet Singh (IND) named FIH Players of the Year!

      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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      Hockey’s global community to talk development at FIH Empowerment and Engagement Forum

        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

        FIH Hockey Stars Awards 2024: winners to be revealed at FIH Centennial Gala in Oman on 8 November!

          18 Oct, 2024 The International Hockey Federation (FIH) is delighted to announce that the winners of the FIH Hockey Stars Awards will be revealed at the FIH Centennial Gala taking place on 8 November in Muscat, Oman, on the occasion of the 49th FIH Statutory Congress. All winners – FIH Players, Goalkeepers, Rising Stars, Coaches and Umpires of the Year – have been invited to join the ceremony in person. The event will be live streamed on the FIH YouTube channel. The voting process for the FIH Players, Goalkeepers and Rising Stars closed last week. Here are the nominees: FIH Player of the Year Award: Women: Gu Bingfeng (CHN), Yibbi Jansen (NED), Nike Lorenz (GER), Stéphanie Vanden Borre (BEL), Xan de Waard (NED) Men: Thierry Brinkman (NED), Joep de Mol (NED), Hannes Müller (GER), Harmanpreet Singh (IND), Zach Wallace (ENG) FIH Goalkeeper of the Year Award: Women: Cristina Cosentino (ARG), Aisling D’Hooghe (BEL), Nathalie Kubalski (GER), Anne Veenendaal (NED), Ye Jiao (CHN) Men: Pirmin Blaak (NED), Luis Calzado (ESP), Jean-Paul Danneberg (GER), Tomás Santiago (ARG), PR Sreejesh (IND) FIH Rising Star of the Year Award: Women: Claire Colwill (AUS), Zoe Díaz (ARG), Tan Jinzhuang (CHN), Emily White (BEL), Linnea Weidemann (GER) Men: Bautista Capurro (ARG), Bruno Font (ESP), Sufyan Khan (PAK), Michel Struthoff (GER), Arno Van Dessel (BEL) The list of nominees was established by an Expert Panel* composed of players, coaches and officials selected by each of their Continental Federations. The expert panel was provided access to match data from all international matches held in 2024, including Test Matches, the FIH hockey Pro League, FIH Hockey Nations Cups, FIH Hockey Olympic Qualifiers and the Olympic Games Paris 2024 before establishing the final list of nominees. The votes of the Expert Panel count for 40% of the overall result. Those from National Associations – represented by their respective national teams’ captains and coaches – count for a further 20%. The fans and other players (20%) as well as the media (20%) make the remaining 40%.  The FIH Coaches and Umpires of the Year are decided by the Expert Panel and the FIH Umpiring Committee respectively. *Expert Panel: Europe: Janne Müller-Wieland (GER) and Simon Mason (ENG) Asia: Tahir Zaman (PAK) and Ms Deepika (IND) Pan America: Soledad Iparraguirre (ARG) and Craig Parnham (USA) Africa: Sarah Bennett (ZIM) and Ahmed Youssef (EGY) Oceania: Amber Church (NZL) and Adam Webster (AUS) Source: FIH.hockey

          FIH Indoor Hockey World Cup Croatia 2025: Ticket sales begin today!

            Lausanne, Switzerland: The FIH Indoor Hockey World Cup Croatia 2025 promises to be one of the most exciting events in the indoor hockey calendar, bringing together the world’s top teams for a high-paced, action-packed tournament. Set to take place in the historic city of Poreč, Croatia, from 3-9 February, 2025, the event will see elite men’s and women’s teams from across the globe battle for supremacy in this unique and fast-paced format of the game.   The ticket sales for the event have begun today and can be purchased by clicking here (English) or here (Croatian). Venue: Zatika Arena The 2025 Indoor Hockey World Cup will be hosted at the Zatika Arena, one of Croatia’s premier indoor sports venues. With a seating capacity of 3700, this state-of-the-art facility has previously hosted major international sporting events, making it the ideal location for this global hockey spectacle. Fans can expect a vibrant atmosphere as the world’s best teams compete in an environment designed to enhance the viewer experience, both in person and online. Teams to Watch The FIH Indoor Hockey World Cup will feature 12 men’s teams and 12 women’s teams, each representing the best of indoor hockey from across their respective continents. Europe, known for its strong indoor hockey tradition, will once again provide formidable competitors, with Austria men returning to defend their title while German men’s and women’s teams, who missed out on the previous edition, will each look to add to their tally of three world cup trophies. Teams from Asia, Africa, the Americas, and Oceania will also showcase their talents, with many nations seeking to establish dominance or claim their first title in the indoor format. While Germany and Austria have traditionally been powerhouses in indoor hockey, many others like Iran, Czechia, Poland have emerged as strong contenders, who will once again be in the mix for the title and podium places. This diverse mix of teams ensures a thrilling tournament full of surprises, skill, and international flair. A Unique Format Indoor hockey is known for its intensity and the high technical qualities required, with smaller teams, quicker games, and high-scoring matches, making it a fan favourite. Played in a 6-a-side format, the tournament emphasises speed, agility, and tactical precision. Games are shorter than traditional outdoor hockey with perimeter boards on the sides keeping the ball in play for longer, adding to the excitement and unpredictability of the competition. The 12 teams (in men’s and women’s competition) have been placed into three pools of four teams each. Men’s  Pool A: Austria, South Africa, Poland, Croatia  Pool B: Iran, Argentina, Germany, Malaysia Pool C: Belgium, Australia, Namibia, Trinidad & Tobago   Women’s  Pool A: Czechia, Belgium, USA, Croatia Pool B: Austria, South Africa, Poland, Thailand Pool C: Australia, Germany, Namibia, New Zealand   The top-8 teams from across the three pools will qualify for the quarterfinals, while the remaining teams will play in the 9-12 position playoffs.  Schedule The schedule for the FIH Indoor Hockey World Cup Croatia 2025 can be found here.  Ticketing Information With indoor hockey growing in popularity, tickets for the FIH Indoor Hockey World Cup Croatia 2025 are expected to be in high demand. Fans eager to witness the fast-paced action live, in the most vibrant of settings, can purchase tickets online starting today, 17 October, by clicking here (English) or here (Croatian).  Croatia: A First-Time Host This is the first time that Croatia will host a global FIH event, and the country is gearing up to welcome players and fans from all over the world. With a growing stature in international hockey, Croatia’s hockey community is excited to showcase its facilities and passion for the sport on the global stage. The event is not only a significant opportunity for Croatian hockey but also for fans worldwide to experience the sport in a new and vibrant setting. The FIH Indoor Hockey World Cup Croatia 2025 is set to deliver unforgettable moments of sporting excellence, with the world’s best indoor hockey players ready to compete at the highest level. As we countdown to February 2025, the anticipation continues to build for what promises to be a spectacular event that will bring together the global hockey community in celebration of the indoor format.  FIH President Tayyab Ikram said: “With the launch of the ticketing process, the 2025 FIH Indoor Hockey World Cup in Poreč, Croatia, is becoming even more “real”, in particular for the fans who can now make sure that they won’t miss the party! This is all the more exciting that Croatia will host an FIH World Cup for the very first time! It’s a commitment from FIH and from myself to organise our events in new territories, and therefore garner new fans. We look forward to a magnificent event!” Croatian Hockey Federation President Damir Hrupec added: “We are very proud that the Croatian Hockey Federation is organising the FIH Indoor Hockey World Cup 2025 in Poreč, Croatia. We welcome you all to join this tournament! The Croatian Hockey Federation and all hockey players in Croatia can’t wait to show how “small” hockey countries are capable of organising such a big event. I am convinced that everyone who comes will enjoy top-class indoor hockey, Poreč and Croatia.” Mark your calendars for this exciting showcase of skill, speed, and strategy! #IHWC2025 #HockeyEquals #HockeyInvites For more information about FIH and hockey in general, please download the Watch.Hockey app or follow the FIH social media channels – Facebook, Instagram, Twitter/X – and website.