Forward of the crucial FIH congress on November 4 & 5 of 2022 we introduced collectively a few hockey folks from world wide, from completely different walks of life and with completely different roles in our recreation of hockey. The thought was to ask them the identical questions I requested the 2 candidates for the FIH presidency some weeks in the past and pay attention to every others views. Examine each presidential candidates in our column “A conflict of cultures“. What would you wish to proceed? What would you want to alter? What can be your priorities?
We hope this offers all directors from the NA’s attending & voting on the FIH congress subsequent week some further meals for thought…
Who participated within the spherical desk discuss?
We went for a various panel with hockey folks from everywhere in the world to share their views from completely different views. The individuals who attended our spherical desk have been:
- Katrin Kauschke from Germany. Former worldwide participant and at present vice chairman for the German NA (nationwide affiliation)
- Leandro Martinez-Zurita from Spain. President of the EHCO, the European hockey golf equipment organisation
- Jorge Dabanch from Argentina. Having coached high division golf equipment in Spain, the Netherlands and Belgium he at present is the top coach for Chile
- Rajpal Singh from India. Former captain of the nationwide workforce for India
- Paul Kelly from Australia. Sponsor & enterprise accomplice to hockey amongst many different sporting organisations
- Jade Bloomfield from the UK. Editor for Hockeyworld Information
- Tyron Barnard from South Africa. Editor for Hockey The Journal & podcaster
- Jimmy Bhogal from India. Social media & twitter voice from India as Give Me Hockey
- … and yours really: Ernst Baart from the Netherlands & residing in Belgium. Founding father of each studiohockey.com – the place it’s all about sharing insights and opinions concerning the larger image for hockey & thehockeysite.com – the place it’s all about sharing information amongst coaches from everywhere in the world.
All of us spoke in our personal names, not as a consultant for any organisation. Just a few individuals who love our sport & take the time to mirror on it… We didn’t agree with all that was stated, as was to be anticipated. However we did discover widespread floor on some issues. Typically a lot to our personal shock… Some smart remarks have been made that need to be heard by those that will resolve the destiny of our sport for the years to return subsequent week.
We touched on many matters, so I picked the views from completely different those that caught with me following our discuss. I won’t comply with the fullest myself with all of those, however thought they have been price sharing…
Leisure & skilled hockey
As I discussed in my earlier column ” A conflict of cultures”, hockey is seen and lived in very other ways world wide. Leandro Martinez-Zurita and myself talked about our love for the household focussed golf equipment.
The custom from over 100 years of households coming collectively to take pleasure in our sport. Reside a wholesome way of life and make connections. Present our youngsters with the “village we have to elevate our kids” within the type of golf equipment, secure havens as part of their training. These golf equipment include leagues for all ages to play on an everyday schedule for not less than 6 months of yearly. I feel, with some native accents, this can be very recognisable for international locations like Argentina or Australia. Not so for Asia…
Rajpal Singh painted a really completely different image for India when he said:
“We don’t have a league. We’ve got tournaments. There are not any household primarily based golf equipment. We’re completely skilled gamers. If somebody offers us cash we’ll play, in any other case there are not any household primarily based golf equipment.”
(Rajpal Singh, India)
Paul Kelly made it very clear hockey in Australia remains to be very a lot an newbie sport. Identical remarks from Jorge Dabanch in Chile.
The gamers in Chile are engineers, medical doctors,… they work in different issues, they examine. They cannot attend worldwide competitions and simply go away for hockey. They don’t seem to be eager about incomes cash from hockey. And that’s completely different in each nation. And each nation wants to search out the way in which to develop. And in Chile the one means is sharing life and hockey.
(Jorge Dabanch, Argentina / Chile)
It’s clear the way in which sport and hockey are perceived world wide are very completely different. It’s clear these variations are right here to remain as properly, not less than for the foreseeable future. So we now have to cope with these. It means – in my view – there may be nobody FIH coverage to handle our sport for the whole world. We want completely different approaches. However… and it is a large however… the completely different approaches have to be managed and harmonised in such a means they don’t conflict. The place attainable they need to reinforce one another. I don’t suppose that is attainable until we transfer away from the fetish of worldwide hockey. I imagine that is solely attainable if world wide we ensure home hockey – in no matter form or type – comes first! It means the FIH for some is barely there to handle the worldwide pinnacle occasions and for others it will extra a assist in sharing experience on the right way to develop our sport, wether that’s on a leisure or skilled stage (or a mixture) makes no distinction, it simply relies on native tradition.
Home & worldwide hockey
It means NA’s (nationwide associations) ought to deal with their home progress and second to that on their nationwide groups. Not the opposite means round. It means the FIH needs to be there to assist its NA’s, not compete with their home hockey. Worldwide hockey just isn’t the top objective, only a means to develop home hockey.
Home hockey can tackle many shapes and types. Clearly I’m a giant fan of the golf equipment and leagues we now have in most European international locations. It combines leisure hockey with in some international locations completely different ranges of semi-professionalism. But it surely doesn’t must be the identical elsewhere. If India – and/or different (Asian) international locations – see sport solely as a attainable profession, I can think about the system of regional tournaments with money prizes might use a lift from their NA to get extra folks choosing up a stick or attending these occasions. If they’ll handle expectations a bit higher I do imagine a renewed Hockey India League (HIL) can be very useful to the game. In some international locations home hockey can be about company or franchised groups and tournaments or about faculty & college leagues.
Regardless of the format you favor I strongly imagine hockey has NO future if it’s not construct upon the foundations of home hockey. Any NA, no matter your state of affairs ought to at all times have its home hockey as the number one precedence and know worldwide hockey is however a way to an finish. It’s the cherry on high of the cake, sure. A really enticing and horny cherry. However with out the cake to assist it, our sport would go hungry and die. No person can dwell on only a cherry 😉
It means NA’s (nationwide associations) ought to deal with their home progress first. And second to that on their nationwide groups. Not the opposite means round. It means the FIH needs to be there to assist its NA’s in the way in which that works greatest for that NA. The FIH ought to by no means compete with their home hockey.
Paul Kelly, a sponsor and enterprise accomplice to many sports activities in Australia, shared his ideas in regards to the Professional League:
The considered bringing a Professional League was nice, nevertheless it was so costly and I feel the construction was simply so fallacious. It truly took our greatest gamers out of our golf equipment and even our Nationwide League for prolonged intervals of time. So it didn’t permit us to advertise our personal gamers. So our golf equipment and nationwide leagues didn’t have our greatest gamers…
(Paul Kelly, Australia)
So what in regards to the Professional League?
Most (if not all) of our panellists have been satisfied the Professional League, as is, has no future. The time has come all of us have to face the information this was a megalomaniac venture. On my finish I liked the unique idea. I nonetheless do. Shifting away from tournaments to residence & away video games solely, so each worldwide recreation would at all times be performed in entrance of a house crowd made sense to me. Sadly the idea suffered from:
- Poor politics: refusing (!) the sponsor who was there earlier than it began and would have made it financially viable
- Poor administration: altering codecs, guidelines and calendars at each flip, typically with out critically consulting these concerned; not pondering of the influence on these not concerned
- Poor advertising and marketing: not having the ability to safe a brand new world sponsor; nonetheless believing old skool media options (TV) would make a distinction; promoting third fee TV productions to typically unreliable media companions so even exhausting core followers world wide typically have a tough time making an attempt to observe the video games dwell.
Some recommendations from Paul Kelly:
An instance that works very properly is volleyball. Australia is within the Volleyball Nations League. It’s a global occasion with 16 nations and principally 4 weeks the place they play all 15 different international locations in that interval. So that they get actually a excessive stage competitors however they’re solely away for 4 weeks. So FIH wants to take a look at this instance and never compete with home leagues, taking away their gamers and never dominate the time of the worldwide gamers everywhere in the world. It might permit enterprise to take a position once more in home hockey and nationwide applications, as a result of that’s the place the expansion goes to return from.
(Paul Kelly, Australia)
Are you enjoying Professional League or enjoying on your membership? That shouldn’t be a query gamers must reply. There needs to be set intervals so we are able to get one of the best of each. However in the mean time the Professional League is inflicting points to permit us to develop the sport. We’ve received to strengthen our nationwide leagues and I feel Professional League is taking away from that.
(Paul Kelly, Australia)
Tyron Barnard gave us some African perspective:
We had pinnacle occasions. The World Cup and the Olympics have been our pinnacle occasions. Subsequent you’ll have the completely different continental championships. And you’ll have 1 different factor and that was the Champions Problem (or Champions Trophy for the highest nations). Now it simply appears like there’s too many issues occurring. That has devalued hockey.
(Tyron Barnard, South Af rica)
Or in regards to the consequence for international locations not within the Professional League, Tyron Barnard:
What occurred for us in South Africa is international locations, due to price range spend in Professional League, stopped coming to us for observe video games which used to present us nice publicity. The extra one of the best groups play solely one another within the Professional league, the extra you create a much bigger and larger chasm with the subsequent tier of countries.
(Tyron Barnard, South Africa)
Right here additionally Jorge Dabanch is weighing in as the top coach for Chile:
For us the issue is, we now have not sufficient competitors. We solely have 1 occasion each two years. Not too long ago we performed the South American occasion the place we had 7 video games, however only one actual match. The ultimate in opposition to Argentina, as a result of the degrees are very completely different. The Professional League is displaying too many so known as large matches. When you present the massive video games solely ever 2 or 3 years, the persons are . However in case you play these each 3 weeks, the persons are not .
(Jorge Dabanch, Argentina / Chile)
Concerning the impact of Professional League on decisions for the NA’s, Paul Kelly:
Australia wasn’t certain about competing within the Professional League as a result of it was so costly. However after they did, they actually had no extra price range for the rest. It had an influence on our Australian nationwide league, there was no extra money for touring with the U21 or U18 growth groups. As a result of the entire cash went to the Professional League.
(Paul Kelly, Australia)
…or once more Tyron Barnard:
South Africa solely took the current invite for the Professional League as a result of it was a 1 12 months deal and an area TV channel (Tremendous Sport) already had invested within the broadcasting rights. The price range was roughly 650K US greenback. For that cash our nationwide groups might have performed over 50 check matches. Now the Nations Cup is developing. The prize for successful the Nations Cup is a ticket into the Professional League… and a large, large invoice…! So is it price it successful the Nations Cup in case you don’t have that sponsor lined up?
(Tyron Barnard, South Africa)
The message FIH retains sending is so complicated in accordance with Jade Bloomfield from Hockeyworld Information:
First they instructed us the Professional League was our flagship match. Now it has simply been determined successful the Professional League will get you a spot for the World Cup or Olympics. So absolutely the World Cup needs to be that flagship occasion, not the Professional League. So the place are we going with this, how are they promoting the competitors? They’re going to the media with a very confused message. So no marvel broadcasters are saying: You don’t even know your individual sport, so how are going to push your sport?
(Jade Bloomfield, UK)
And let me add on a private observe it’s fully unacceptable that an invitational occasion like Professional League turns into a qualifying occasion. That’s one thing that goes in opposition to all guidelines about equity and sports activities conduct…
Tyron Barnard agreed with Bloomfield concerning the significance of the Professional League:
When you ask any hockey participant, the head occasion is the Olympic Video games and subsequent the World Cup.There may be not a single participant saying the head is the Professional League. A lot in order that gamers fairly fortunately miss a check match within the Professional League recreation as a result of they wish to play their membership recreation domestically.
(Tyron Barnard, South Africa)
Katrin Kauschke is responsable for tophockey within the German NA and has the expertise of a former worldwide participant herself. She additionally shared her ideas on the Professional League:
In Germany we’re desirous about how can we afford all these worldwide video games? And the way can we safe the assist from our golf equipment affiliation to go together with us this fashion in worldwide hockey. The format of the Professional League most likely needs to be rethought. And I feel this progress already began. Perhaps the ultimate determination might be a return to the Champions Trophy. Which was a format I very a lot appreciated. Perhaps it’s one other format.
(Katrin Kauschke, Germany)
She goes on describing the potential of returning to every nation deciding themselves when to go and play overseas. Basically observe video games, however these might be branded as some form of Check Sequence or Professional League video games. However in any case the weighing of this format needs to be rethought. It might give again that means to occasions just like the Sultan Johor Cup in Malaysia or the Summer season Sequence in South Africa…
Some ideas shared about the way in which our recreation is managed by FIH…
Tyron Barnard shares an African perspective about Hockey5s, the substitute third format of our recreation the FIH is so desperately making an attempt to push down our throats:
I’m a giant fan of Rugby 7s as a diminished type of the unique Rugby 15s. However they’ve taken not one of the elementary values of the sport out of the foundations! Indoor hockey or Hockey6s does the identical factor. They’ve saved the elemental spirit of hockey. Hockey5s doesn’t! Simply taking away circles and brief corners… it doesn’t. We’re additionally not a large enough sport, that we want a third variation. I have a look at the fairytale story of Namibia or those from Trinidad & Tobago or Kazachstan. These are guys who won’t ever qualify for the 11-a-side world cup. However they do get there in Indoor hockey. They don’t want hockey5s for that… they’ve received indoor hockey.
(Tyron Barnard, South Africa)
And a facet observe from me to this assertion from Tyron Barnard. Everyone knows indoor hockey doesn’t have to be performed indoor. It may be performed on any out of doors clean subject of play. It shares the identical pitch measurement with sports activities like handball or futsal. We most likely ought to cease advertising and marketing it as indoor hockey and name it Tremendous Sixes or one thing like that to make that clear to the uninformed. In my perception there may be NO added worth from Hockey5s that would not even be attained by the prevailing brief format of hockey that already has a legacy and following world wide. This pointless third format is costing us…
Jorge Dabanch was easy in his message to FIH in regards to the notion we should always compete with the massive sports activities with a venture like Professional League and the priorities for FIH:
We’re not a giant sport! And that’s necessary! We misplaced this race. We misplaced it. Hockey just isn’t a giant sport! Hockey is a small sport. And FIH must deal with what’s the technique to develop in each nation.
(Jorge Dabanch, Argentina / Chile)
Jorge Dabanch additionally has one other message for FIH in managing worldwide hockey occasions and the continuous altering of guidelines & rules:
I’m a global coach and even for me it’s obscure how we play the subsequent World Cup. When you take a third place, you must change the town. And you must play a 1st ranked workforce who has been ready for 1 full week for one more match, with out matches. And also you say why??? Simply play two teams, semi finals and finals. All people understands that. It’s simple!
(Jorge Dabanch, Argentina / Chile)
FIH adjustments the foundations too typically. Typically the sport is healthier for it. But when your grandfather wakes up and sees a hockey recreation, they won’t recognise something. That isn’t conventional. This 12 months they began speaking about altering the brief nook? The brief nook is the guts of subject hockey! And these good guys wish to change the brief nook? These persons are loopy! 🙂
(Jorge Dabanch, Argentina / Chile)
And in regards to the struggles of being the coach for a 2nd tier nation like Chile:
It’s too troublesome to go up within the rating. It’s unattainable! We’ve got no matches. What’s the means for us to take factors? When you’ve got no competitions? When you ask one other nation for a match, they are saying no to official matches. Solely friendlies, as a result of else they danger to lose factors.
(Jorge Dabanch, Argentina / Chile)
I known as the presidential election developing a “conflict of cultures” however Leandro Martinez-Zurita thinks it’s extra about continuity or change:
Continuity or change? I feel change would come when Marc Coudron will get elected… and I want that. If Tayyab Ikram stays in workplace we’ll see extra continuity of the identical. I feel we want change. Financially the purple numbers at FIH are growing. There’s a large gap and the Professional League has been a catastrophe, amongst different initiatives like Hockey5s. They’ve been pulling cash away from growth. Cash within the Basis and different accounts completely devoted for growth has been invested in Professional League. With the excuse the Professional League can also be hockey growth. However sorry, that’s not growth. Whoever will get elected will face a giant monetary problem.
(Leandro Martinez-Zurita, Spain)
Two different necessary traits introduced ahead by Leandro Martinez-Zurita have been the transfer away from waterbased pitches, as a result of this isn’t a sustainable possibility for the (close to) future. And the necessity for the FIH to provide you with a brief format, possibly a mixture between Hockey5s and indoor hockey, to function a developmental format to assist international locations with out hockey to develop the sport.
Jade Bloomfield, from the UK, agreed with most of what Leandro Martinez-Zurita stated:
The subsequent election is about proceed or change. Everybody right here is in settlement that the game just isn’t in an awesome place. So realistically there is just one factor that ought to occur and that’s Marc Coudron getting voted in so he can begin that change that’s wanted.
(Jade Bloomfield, UK)
There may be means an excessive amount of worldwide hockey, performed in Europe. However as Jorge stated in Chile or South America, there may be not sufficient. It’s the FIH’s job to make sure a unified strategy for hockey the world over and the quantity of video games being performed. I nonetheless battle to get my head round how a global participant that has been enjoying 2 or 3 years on the high can get to 50 caps. In soccer a participant can go for an entire profession and never get to that quantity of caps. There may be an excessive amount of worldwide hockey ! And that goes again to attendance, folks watching the game. GB needed to change one in all their venues for a Professional League recreation scheduled in a giant rugby stadium. For that match that they had bought solely 486 tickets… in a stadium that seats 12.000. It reveals persons are not that anymore in worldwide video games until it’s at a giant occasion just like the World Cup.
(Jade Bloomfield, UK)
The obsession with India
There isn’t any denying India has been on the centre of consideration for the FIH these final years. And most will agree there are good causes for this as properly. However an excessive amount of is an excessive amount of, even for India.
Jimmy Bhogal, generally known as “Give Me Hockey” sharing insights on twitter from the Indian perspective, recognises it’s not sound to wager all of it on simply the one nation. Even when it has this large potential:
FIH has this India-centric strategy. Which is definitely nice for us in India. However in case you have a look at the game as an entire, it’s actually, actually unhealthy! I perceive India has the most important market, a lot of the cash is right here. However that doesn’t imply you depend on simply this one factor!
(Jimmy Bhogal, India)
We would not have a home construction, so FIH offers us extra worldwide video games. So we now have extra followers tuning in. However is that this the identical factor all through the world? No, the reply isn’t any! All people right here agrees that membership hockey is essential for the expansion of our sport. But it surely works for some international locations and it doesn’t for some international locations. So FIH wants to search out an strategy to assuage everybody. I perceive FIH has elevated Professional League to present us extra worldwide video games, extra Indian followers tuning in, extra alternatives for them to earn some cash. However that’s not the fitting strategy for hockey.
(Jimmy Bhogal, India)
Champions Trophy was the most important occasion following World Cup and Olympics. However you play these tournaments as soon as in 4 years and Champions Trophy was extra common. But when in case you take the Professional League the place India is enjoying Australia at present and subsequent week India is enjoying Belgium… That takes out all of the enjoyable !
(Jimmy Bhogal, India)
Jorge Dabanch shared his opinion on India as properly:
With out India, hockey can be killed. The individuals who watch hockey are in India.If they’re with out these form of worldwide tournaments, we’re out of the Olympic Video games. And if hockey is out of the Olympic Video games, we’re killed. So we have to discover one thing in between the Indian view and the remainder of the world view. If not we’ll proceed to be a small sport, yearly smaller…
(Jorge Dabanch, Argentina / Chile)
Last remarks
If I recap, all of us agreed hockey just isn’t in one of the best of locations proper now and a change is required. We predict Professional League, as is, is not going to be the answer however moderately is a giant a part of the issue. Financially the FIH is in bother, made some odd decisions… and we urgently have to rectify this with sustainable wholesome funds. We want folks operating the game who realise we aren’t one of many large sports activities on the earth, so we have to be smarter within the decisions we make. We don’t want ( and may’t deal with) a third aggressive format in our sport. What we do want is a tailor-made strategy for the completely different wants of our sport world wide. Tailor-made to the wants of the completely different NA’s. We want an FIH focussed on supporting the NA’s in rising their home recreation first, regardless of the format for this that fits completely different international locations.
I wish to share the remarks from Katrin Kauschke for the ultimate remarks coming from this spherical desk discuss with hockey folks from world wide…
A few of us stated in regards to the one who can be elected it is going to be change or continuity. I simply hope it is not going to be that alternative. I hope the one who’s extra about continuity can also be open minded and keen to have some adjustments. As a result of I feel that’s what we have to have. A typical sense in our choices, making our choices pondering of all nations and folks. That’s the reason I hope every of the alternatives can be open for ideas like that.
(Katrin Kauschke, Germany)
In fact we all know the above is however a pattern of ideas. We might simply discover others with much more completely different opinions. However I do imagine there may be some worthy meals for thought for the folks managing our sport within the quotes above. Let’s hope they vote with a properly knowledgeable and open thoughts for the nice of our sport…