10 questions for the FIH

Studio.Hockey

A year ago, in November 2018, the FIH had its global congress. An event where several important decisions regarding the future of our sport were communicated. Also more or less a year ago we spoke with the "new" CEO of the FIH Thierry Weil, before the global congress on some my worries for the future of our sport. Following the global congress a year ago we had a talk with Mike Joyce, director of development for the FIH about the Hockey2024 plan that was about to launch.
So today, more or less a year down the road, with the end of 2019 in sight, we thought it would be good to have another talk with these two administrators from FIH about the plans launched in 2018 and what has been accomplished since then in 2019 or will be in 2020. We defined 10 topics to discuss with them:
FIH Pro LeagueFIH QualifiersTokyo 2020A dry artificial pitchThe FIH.live platformHockey2024Growing hockeyLA 2028One short format of hockeyDo all stakeholders have a voice?
Please note this column is not an exact transcript (far from it) of the podcast. I do recommend both reading the full column as well as listening the full podcast... ;)
FIH Pro League
2019 has been the year of the launch of the FIH Pro League more than anything else probably. At least in terms of visibility on a global scale.
FIH felt it was very important to give a boost to the promotion of hockey around the world. When they spoke to broadcasters their major issue with our sport was the lack of a fixed calendar, a time of year when broadcasters were assured of enough international games to schedule in their programming. So the wish from broadcasters for a more consistent hockey calendar has been fulfilled. The major learning from this first year of the FIH Pro League has been the home & away games in the current schedule were too much of a stress on the health of players. So the 2nd year will see an important change with double home games for some opponents this year followed by double away games for the same the next year. This means travel is cut in half which is not only better for our environmental footprint but especially will be less of a strain on player health. Feedback from coaches and players, according to Weil, was very positive. But obviously some changes were needed going into year two. The change of schedule for player welfare but also a change in the production of these events for TV. More uniformity in showing a recognisable format of the game on TV. Another issue in year 1 has been the lack of supporters in the stands in some countries. A fact Weil blames on the short preparation time between the final green light and the first Pro League games. Not allowing enough time for some good marketing of these events to draw in the crowds. This time however there is enough time for the marketeers in each country to work on a good ticketing plan and promotion of their home games. For example in Germany this time the marketing agency that was in charge for the very successful indoor world cup will make sure the German hockey supporters will not miss out on their home games again, according to Weil. Financially it's clear this first year has been an investment. A much needed investment in the promotion of hockey. But another equally important goal is to create revenue and profit for the FIH to use for the development of hockey around the world. Because in order to grow hockey, more money is needed. So obviously a business plan for this event at some point in time will need to show profits to be able to do more for growing our game of hockey. Though Weil states he would also be happy with a break even and more promotion of our sport, the business plan by the FIH assumes a profit will be generated to help develop hockey as of 2022 or 2023 at the latest.
Still, even if I consider myself a big fan of top international hockey & the FIH Pro League... I will be curious to see a full evaluation by 2023-2024 to see how much money not only the FIH has invested i
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