President's View

It has been an exciting month for FIH, with two of significant television announcements and the first world level event for 2005 boosting the sport’s profile around the world. 

The signing of a lucrative television contract with Ten Sports in late April was the highlight, with a long-term deal ensuring that hockey will have a consistent and on-going presence in the sub continent, one of our largest and most important markets. 

Ten Sports has shown loyalty to FIH over many years and we are delighted that the 2006 World Cups and Champions Trophy tournaments until 2008 will be broadcast on the most-watched sports channel on the sub continent. 

This is the first major announcement of its kind since FIH took control of the television rights earlier this year and FIH Marketing Manager Steven Morris has to be thanked for his efforts. We are sure it marks the beginning of an exciting period of growth for global hockey television coverage.

The other major announcement made during the past month is that BDO, one of our four Global Hockey Partners, will be the presenting sponsor of FIH’s new television magazine, BDO WorldHockey Monthly. 

This extension of BDO’s partnership with FIH demonstrates a true sense of cooperation between a sponsor and its sport, which will significantly increase hockey’s exposure on TV on a regular basis. 

The program will begin in June this year and will be distributed to broadcasters globally each month free of charge. This important project will allow us to showcase the stars of our sport and promote hockey to a global audience. 

FIH encourages all National Associations and Continental Federations to become involved in this terrific initiative and contact us with interesting stories or projects in their region to full take advantage of the opportunity this resource presents. 

The Sahara Hockey Champions Challenge in Egypt in early April provided a great start to the 2005 international hockey calendar. The tournament was wonderfully hosted by the Egyptian Hockey Federation and FIH is grateful for their hospitality and hard work in the lead-up to and during the event.

This shows that our smaller federations are capable of hosting second tier events with the assistance of FIH and the Global Hockey Partners.

The quality of hockey was also exceptional, with Argentina’s victory and the performance of the Belgian team throughout the event two of the many highlights. The Champions Challenge continues to provide an important avenue for those teams outside the top six to attain quality competition in a high-pressure environment. 

Finally, the programme for the 2012 Olympic Games will be decided at the IOC Session in July when a vote will decide which of the sports from Athens will remain on the Olympic programme. The vote will take place the day after the election of the host city for the 2012 Games. 

To retain their participation status, sports must receive a majority of votes in the secret ballot by IOC members. The results of the vote will only be announced at the end of the proceedings. 

While we are confident that hockey will remain on the programme for the 2012 Games, positive announcements and achievements such as those made in the last month can only assist and strengthen our long-term, strategic goals and our participation in the Olympic Games. 

Els van Breda Vriesman
FIH President