2012 Congress:
It was announced that Malaysia will host the 2012 FIH Congress in Kuala Lumpur. The Congress dates are from October 31 to November 4, 2012. It is the first time that Asia has hosted a Congress since 1975.
Champions Trophy & Champions Challenge Qualification System:The qualification criteria for the 2012 Champions Trophy and Champions Challenges were announced.
For the Champions Trophy the following teams will be qualified to participate:
The host
Teams placed 1st – 5th at the 2011 FIH Champions Trophy
The winners of the 2011 FIH Champions Challenge 1
One or two places to be nominated by the FIH Executive Board. The criteria used for the basis of the Executive Board decision are; commercial advantage to sport, world rankings and development of the game.
Qualification criteria for the Champions Challenge 1 and 2 can be found on the FIH website in the Event Resources section under the Sport section.
Teams placed 1st – 5th at the 2011 FIH Champions Trophy
The winners of the 2011 FIH Champions Challenge 1
One or two places to be nominated by the FIH Executive Board. The criteria used for the basis of the Executive Board decision are; commercial advantage to sport, world rankings and development of the game.
Qualification criteria for the Champions Challenge 1 and 2 can be found on the FIH website in the Event Resources section under the Sport section.
FIH World League:
The new FIH World League will be launched in 2012. To date 62 men’s teams have entered and 51 women’s. As a result of these numbers, it is likely that there will be nine men’s Round 1 tournaments and eight women’s. The FIH Competitions Committee has proposed that the Round 1 World League tournaments should be played after the Olympics in local venues to reduce travel for teams. Round 2 will follow in early 2013. In August / September 2013 Round 3 will be held and the first World League will conclude in November / December 2013 with Round 4.
Project Brazil
The FIH is working closely with the Brazil Hockey Confederation to develop an action plan to strengthen hockey in the nation in the build up to the Olympic Games in 2016. Steps taken to date include the hiring of a High Performance Director, which is in the final stages; securing equipment support; participation in the World League and hosting the Pan American Challenge at the end of July.
Complementary Game:
The FIH is currently brainstorming with various stakeholders to develop a complementary game in time for the 2014 Youth Olympic Games. Several other sports have used the YOG to roll out complementary game formats and FIH is hoping to do the same. A proposal has been put forward to the IOC for approval at the IOC Executive Board next week in Durban.
