Forward of the crucial FIH congress on November 4 & 5 of 2022 we introduced collectively a few hockey folks from all over the world, 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 hear to every others views. Examine each presidential candidates in our column “A conflict of cultures“. What would you prefer to proceed? What would you want to alter? What could be your priorities?
We hope this offers all directors from the NA’s attending & voting on the FIH congress subsequent week some additional 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 presently vp 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 prime division golf equipment in Spain, the Netherlands and Belgium he presently 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 actually: 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 mentioned, 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 determine 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 who caught with me following our discuss. I won’t comply with the fullest myself with all of those, however thought they have been value sharing…
Leisure & skilled hockey
As I discussed in my earlier column ” A conflict of cultures”, hockey is seen and lived in very other ways all over the world. 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 get pleasure from our sport. Reside a wholesome way of life and make connections. Present our youngsters with the “village we have to increase our kids” within the type of golf equipment, protected havens as part of their schooling. These golf equipment include leagues for all ages to play on a daily schedule for at the very least 6 months of yearly. I believe, with some native accents, this will probably be very recognisable for nations 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 now have tournaments. There are not any household based mostly golf equipment. We’re completely skilled gamers. If somebody provides us cash we are going to play, in any other case there are not any household based mostly golf equipment.”
(Rajpal Singh, India)
Paul Kelly made it very clear hockey in Australia remains to be very a lot an novice sport. Identical remarks from Jorge Dabanch in Chile.
The gamers in Chile are engineers, docs,… they work in different issues, they examine. They can’t attend worldwide competitions and simply go away for hockey. They don’t seem to be thinking about incomes cash from hockey. And that’s completely different in each nation. And each nation wants to seek out the way in which to develop. And in Chile the one manner is sharing life and hockey.
(Jorge Dabanch, Argentina / Chile)
It’s clear the way in which sport and hockey are perceived all over the world are very completely different. It’s clear these variations are right here to remain as effectively, at the very least for the foreseeable future. So we’ve to take care of these. It means – in my view – there might be nobody FIH coverage to handle our sport for your complete world. We’d like completely different approaches. However… and it is a massive however… the completely different approaches should be managed and harmonised in such a manner they don’t conflict. The place attainable they need to reinforce one another. I don’t suppose that is attainable except we transfer away from the fetish of worldwide hockey. I consider that is solely attainable if all over the world we be sure that home hockey – in no matter form or type – comes first! It means the FIH for some is just there to handle the worldwide pinnacle occasions and for others it will extra a assist in sharing experience on tips on how to develop our sport, wether that’s on a leisure or skilled degree (or a mix) makes no distinction, it simply will depend 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 manner 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 purpose, only a means to develop home hockey.
Home hockey can tackle many shapes and kinds. Clearly I’m an enormous fan of the golf equipment and leagues we’ve in most European nations. It combines leisure hockey with in some nations completely different ranges of semi-professionalism. Nevertheless it doesn’t need to be the identical elsewhere. If India – and/or different (Asian) nations – 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 selecting up a stick or attending these occasions. If they will handle expectations a bit higher I do consider a renewed Hockey India League (HIL) could be very useful to the game. In some nations home hockey will probably be about company or franchised groups and tournaments or about college & college leagues.
Regardless of the format you favor I strongly consider hockey has NO future if it isn’t 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 method to an finish. It’s the cherry on prime 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 one can reside 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 manner round. It means the FIH needs to be there to assist its NA’s in the way in which that works finest 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 believe the construction was simply so improper. It really took our greatest gamers out of our golf equipment and even our Nationwide League for prolonged intervals of time. So it didn’t enable 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 must face the info this was a megalomaniac venture. On my finish I cherished 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, usually with out significantly consulting these concerned; not pondering of the affect on these not concerned
- Poor advertising: not with the ability to safe a brand new world sponsor; nonetheless believing old style media options (TV) would make a distinction; promoting third fee TV productions to usually unreliable media companions so even arduous core followers all over the world usually have a tough time making an attempt to observe the video games reside.
Some recommendations from Paul Kelly:
An instance that works very effectively is volleyball. Australia is within the Volleyball Nations League. It’s a world occasion with 16 nations and principally 4 weeks the place they play all 15 different nations in that interval. In order that they get actually a excessive degree competitors however they’re solely away for 4 weeks. So FIH wants to have 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 enable enterprise to speculate once more in home hockey and nationwide packages, 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 need to reply. There needs to be set intervals so we will get the most effective of each. However for the time being the Professional League is inflicting points to permit us to develop the sport. We’ve received to strengthen our nationwide leagues and I believe 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 seems like there’s too many issues taking place. That has devalued hockey.
(Tyron Barnard, South Af rica)
Or in regards to the consequence for nations not within the Professional League, Tyron Barnard:
What occurred for us in South Africa is nations, due to price range spend in Professional League, stopped coming to us for apply video games which used to provide us nice publicity. The extra the most effective groups play solely one another within the Professional league, the extra you create an even bigger and greater chasm with the following 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’ve not sufficient competitors. We solely have 1 occasion each two years. Lately we performed the South American occasion the place we had 7 video games, however only one actual match. The ultimate towards Argentina, as a result of the degrees are very completely different. The Professional League is displaying too many so known as massive matches. Should you present the large video games solely ever 2 or 3 years, the individuals are . However should you play these each 3 weeks, the individuals are not .
(Jorge Dabanch, Argentina / Chile)
In regards to the impact of Professional League on selections 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 affect on our Australian nationwide league, there was no extra money for touring with the U21 or U18 improvement groups. As a result of all the 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 yr 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 take a look at matches. Now the Nations Cup is arising. The prize for successful the Nations Cup is a ticket into the Professional League… and a large, huge invoice…! So is it value it successful the Nations Cup should you don’t have that sponsor lined up?
(Tyron Barnard, South Africa)
The message FIH retains sending is so complicated in line with Jade Bloomfield from Hockeyworld Information:
First they advised us the Professional League was our flagship event. 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 totally 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 notice it’s utterly unacceptable that an invitational occasion like Professional League turns into a qualifying occasion. That’s one thing that goes towards all guidelines about equity and sports activities conduct…
Tyron Barnard agreed with Bloomfield concerning the significance of the Professional League:
Should 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 take a look at 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 eager 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 along with us this manner in worldwide hockey. The format of the Professional League most likely must be rethought. And I believe this progress already began. Possibly the ultimate resolution may very well be a return to the Champions Trophy. Which was a format I very a lot favored. Possibly it’s one other format.
(Katrin Kauschke, Germany)
She goes on describing the potential for returning to every nation deciding themselves when to go and play overseas. Primarily apply video games, however these may very well be branded as some form of Take a look at 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 time 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 bogus third format of our recreation the FIH is so desperately making an attempt to push down our throats:
I’m an enormous fan of Rugby 7s as a diminished type of the unique Rugby 15s. However they’ve taken not one of the basic 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 sufficiently big sport, that we’d like 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 notice from me to this assertion from Tyron Barnard. Everyone knows indoor hockey doesn’t should be performed indoor. It may be performed on any outside clean subject of play. It shares the identical pitch measurement with sports activities like handball or futsal. We most likely ought to cease advertising 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’s NO added worth from Hockey5s that might not even be attained by the present brief format of hockey that already has a legacy and following all over the world. This pointless third format is costing us…
Jorge Dabanch was simple in his message to FIH in regards to the notion we should always compete with the large sports activities with a venture like Professional League and the priorities for FIH:
We aren’t an enormous sport! And that’s necessary! We misplaced this race. We misplaced it. Hockey just isn’t an enormous sport! Hockey is a small sport. And FIH must maintain what’s the method 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 & laws:
I’m a world coach and even for me it’s obscure how we play the following World Cup. Should you take a third place, it’s important to change the town. And it’s important to play a 1st ranked workforce who has been ready for 1 full week for an additional match, with out matches. And also you say why??? Simply play two teams, semi finals and finals. Everyone understands that. It’s straightforward!
(Jorge Dabanch, Argentina / Chile)
FIH modifications the foundations too usually. Typically the sport is healthier for it. But when your grandfather wakes up and sees a hockey recreation, they won’t recognise something. That’s not conventional. This yr they began speaking about altering the brief nook? The brief nook is the guts of subject hockey! And these sensible guys wish to change the brief nook? These individuals 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 tough to go up within the rating. It’s unimaginable! We now have no matches. What’s the manner for us to take factors? You probably have no competitions? Should you ask one other nation for a match, they are saying no to official matches. Solely friendlies, as a result of else they threat to lose factors.
(Jorge Dabanch, Argentina / Chile)
I known as the presidential election arising a “conflict of cultures” however Leandro Martinez-Zurita thinks it’s extra about continuity or change:
Continuity or change? I believe change would come when Marc Coudron will get elected… and I need that. If Tayyab Ikram stays in workplace we are going to see extra continuity of the identical. I believe we’d like change. Financially the purple numbers at FIH are growing. There’s a massive gap and the Professional League has been a catastrophe, amongst different initiatives like Hockey5s. They’ve been pulling cash away from improvement. Cash within the Basis and different accounts completely devoted for improvement has been invested in Professional League. With the excuse the Professional League can be hockey improvement. However sorry, that’s not improvement. Whoever will get elected will face an enormous 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 choice for the (close to) future. And the necessity for the FIH to give you a brief format, perhaps a mixture between Hockey5s and indoor hockey, to function a developmental format to assist nations with out hockey to develop the sport.
Jade Bloomfield, from the UK, agreed with most of what Leandro Martinez-Zurita mentioned:
The subsequent election is about proceed or change. Everybody right here is in settlement that the game just isn’t in an important 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 manner an excessive amount of worldwide hockey, performed in Europe. However as Jorge mentioned in Chile or South America, there’s not sufficient. It’s the FIH’s job to make sure a unified strategy for hockey internationally and the quantity of video games being performed. I nonetheless battle to get my head round how a world participant that has been enjoying 2 or 3 years on the prime can get to 50 caps. In soccer a participant can go for a complete 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 certainly one of their venues for a Professional League recreation scheduled in an enormous rugby stadium. For that match that they had bought solely 486 tickets… in a stadium that seats 12.000. It reveals individuals are not that anymore in worldwide video games except it’s at an enormous occasion just like the World Cup.
(Jade Bloomfield, UK)
The obsession with India
There is no such thing as a 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 effectively. 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 isn’t sound to guess all of it on simply the one nation. Even when it has this massive potential:
FIH has this India-centric strategy. Which is definitely nice for us in India. However should you have a look at the game as a complete, it’s actually, actually unhealthy! I perceive India has the largest market, many of the cash is right here. However that doesn’t imply you depend on simply this one factor!
(Jimmy Bhogal, India)
We shouldn’t have a home construction, so FIH provides us extra worldwide video games. So we’ve extra followers tuning in. However is that this the identical factor all through the world? No, the reply is not any! Everyone right here agrees that membership hockey is essential for the expansion of our sport. Nevertheless it works for some nations and it doesn’t for some nations. So FIH wants to seek out an strategy to assuage everybody. I perceive FIH has elevated Professional League to provide us extra worldwide video games, extra Indian followers tuning in, extra alternatives for them to earn some cash. However that’s not the correct strategy for hockey.
(Jimmy Bhogal, India)
Champions Trophy was the largest 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 should you take the Professional League the place India is enjoying Australia at this time 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 effectively:
With out India, hockey will probably 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 are going to proceed to be a small sport, yearly smaller…
(Jorge Dabanch, Argentina / Chile)
Ultimate remarks
If I recap, all of us agreed hockey just isn’t in the most effective of locations proper now and a change is required. We expect Professional League, as is, is not going to be the answer however fairly is an enormous a part of the issue. Financially the FIH is in bother, made some odd selections… and we urgently must rectify this with sustainable wholesome funds. We’d like folks working the game who realise we’re not one of many massive sports activities on the earth, so we should be smarter within the selections we make. We don’t want ( and might’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 all over the world. Tailor-made to the wants of the completely different NA’s. We’d like an FIH focussed on supporting the NA’s in rising their home recreation first, regardless of the format for this that fits completely different nations.
I wish to share the remarks from Katrin Kauschke for the ultimate remarks coming from this spherical desk discuss with hockey folks from all over the world…
A few of us mentioned in regards to the one who will probably be elected it will likely be change or continuity. I simply hope it is not going to be that selection. I hope the one who’s extra about continuity can be open minded and prepared to have some modifications. As a result of I believe 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 will probably be open for ideas like that.
(Katrin Kauschke, Germany)
After all 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 consider there’s some worthy meals for thought for the folks managing our sport within the quotes above. Let’s hope they vote with a effectively knowledgeable and open thoughts for the great of our sport…