Antonio Antonov, EHF and FIH Educator and EHF Coaches Committee member travelled to Albania last week to deliver an EHF Coaches Development Seminar was held at the request of the National Olympic Committee of Albania and the newly established Albanian Hockey Association.
The seminar is a logical conclusion to the efforts of a group of enthusiasts to lay the foundations for the development of hockey
in Albania, through the selection and training of young coaches – mostly students and physical education teachers who want to learn the basic rules, techniques and tactics of hockey.
HOSTS – ORGANIZERS: Kliton Muca – ANOC, Florian Muca – SMART Sports Center and Assoc. Prof Juel Jarani – lecturer in Sport University of Tirana.
The seminar was attended by 22 participants from six areas – Tirana, Durres, Elbasan, Korca, Sarande, Shkodra, including 1 university professor of sports, 10 teachers of physical education and sports and 9 sports students from the University of Tirana. We are delighted that 20% of the participants were women.
A meeting took place with the representatives of the clubs for convening a congress of the federation for election of a new EB, changes in the statutes of the federation, according to the changes in the legislation of the country and change of the seat of the federation from Ohrid in the capital Skopje.
Next steps:
- Organise FIH/EHF seminars for Coaches (level 1) and Umpires, with students of sports and teachers of physical education and sports.
- A short-term strategic plan for the activities of the federation in 2021.
- Registration of the newly established Federation, according to the current Albanian legislation – deadline is the end of November 2020.
- Participation of a representative of AHF as an online observer in the General Assembly of EHF – November 7, 2020
- Organization of EHF seminar for training of coaches and referees in the discipline – indoor hockey – February – March 2021
- Submission of application and documents for membership in the IHF deadline until the end of January 2021 and participation in the FIH Congress in New Delhi, India – May 2021.
- Participation of a representative of Albania in the EHF Youth Development Forum – June 2021
- Organization or participation of Albanian representatives in a coaching course – FIH Hockey Academy Level 1 by the end of 2021.
- Organization or participation of Albanian representatives in a children’s hockey festival by the end of 2021
Antonio was delighted that the National Olympic Committee of Albania will support with volunteers, with moral, marketing and logistical support any initiative for the promotion of hockey as an Olympic sport in Albania.
EHF Development and Education Manager, Thomas Pedersen-Smith said “The EHF is delighted that Albania is working towards becoming a full and active member of the European Hockey Family and we look forward to working with them over the coming years. A huge personal thanks to Antonio who has for many years worked so hard to keep hockey alive and growing in many countries in Europe.”
