31st March 2022, Brussels, Belgium: EHF Executive Board meeting took place on Saturday 25th – 26th March 2022 in Brussels.
President’s Welcome:
The President, Marijke Fleuren, warmly welcomed everyone to the first face-to-face meeting since December 2019.
At the start of the meeting, the President asked all the Executive Board members to share their personal and hockey news of last few months and thoughts on what has happened in the last couple of years.
All Board members commented that there have been a lot of challenges, but at the same time they had time to reflect on the future.
Apologies for the Absence: Patrick Keusters.
The minutes of the December meeting were read, approved, and signed.
Ukraine, update, and discussion:
The President started the discussion about the situation in Ukraine and Europe. In the last couple of weeks, the EHF has made difficult decisions to exclude Russia and Belarus from EHF events for the foreseeable future. In the meantime, the EHF is working on a fundraising page to help the Ukrainian hockey family. The page will be launched soon.
FIH update:
Marijke Fleuren updated the Board about sustainability strategy and other business coming from the recent FIH Executive Board meeting.
Competition Committee Outdoor/Indoor report:
Walter Kapounek reported to the Board on the EHF Indoor Junior, Indoor Seniors, and Indoor Club events in December/January/February. Postponed Indoor Seniors events will take place in December 2022. Hosts and participants are in close contact with the EHF Competitions Manager.
EHF Competitions Manager, David Voskamp, joined the meeting and together with Walter outlined to the Board the current situation and the circumstances of RUS/BLR exclusion from the EHF events. The Board discussed at length the various options and processes, the outcome will be announced in due course.
Angus Kirkland updated the Board about the second face-to-face meeting with the organizing Committee of European Championship 2023 held in February. The next meeting is planned to take place in Mönchengladbach on 5th May 2022.
EHL update:
Angus Kirkland updated the Board about the EHL situation with Origin and the new EHL system. An update will be given to Clubs and NAs in the coming weeks.
Communications and Commercial Committee Report:
Simon Mason and Sabina Zampetti updated the Board about the Communications and Commercial Committee (online) meeting. Both were happy that the Committee is now back functioning in a positive way, and they intend to lead the Committee in a strategic review of our Communications and report that back to the Board.
Siobhán Madeley, Tom Pedersen – Smith, and Jokko de Wit presented the proposed Digital Transformation project to the Board. This has been submitted as an EU Erasmus Project. A further proposal on the initial project requirements will be reviewed by the Communications and Commercial Committee and will then be sent to the Board for review.
Jokko de Wit updated the Board about the EHF business club, EHTV+, and partnership proposals.
It was agreed that the Board would, at its next meeting, review the strategic priorities, to guide the operational activity over the next few years.
Officials Committee Report:
Magdalena Nazaret presented to the Board the Officials Committee report from their first face-to-face meeting in March. Operations Manager, Gráinne Corry, joined the meeting and discussed the officials’ matters together with Board members. More information about the programmes can be found here.
Development Committee Report:
Marcos Hofmann and Peter Elders updated the Board about the Development umbrella and the projects under them. Both summarized the recent first face-to-face meeting and are happy that Committee has 16 Committee members from the 15 member associations. More information about the Development programmes can be found here.
Coaching Committee Report:
Inez Cooper updated the Board about coaching programs and the first C4E and TCP face-to-face courses. At the end of the March, the Committee will have a meeting in Brussels. More information about the programmes can be found here.
Towards more gender equality in sport:
Marijke Fleuren presented the „Towards more gender equality in sport“ to the Board. More information can be found here.
Finance Report:
Angus Kirkland presented the 2021 end-of-the-year management figures to the Board and the year-to-date to 28th February 2022 figures, and the updated outlook for 2022.
The President thanked the Board for their time and was happy to meet everyone around the table.
The Executive Board members will come back to the Committees and staff members to update them about Board decisions and ideas on how to make hockey better for everyone.
The meeting closed at 12:20.
