Last weekend, the EuroHockey Executive Board held their second face-to-face meeting of 2025 in Istanbul; here is an overview of the key items discussed:
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Welcome to Istanbul!
The second face-to-face meeting of the year was held in Istanbul, Türkiye, hosted by the Türkiye Hockey Federation. President Sadık Karakan expressed his pleasure in hosting the EuroHockey executive board and discussed the development of hockey in Türkiye. Marcos Hofmann thanked the Türkiye Hockey Federation for their warm welcome, explained the purpose of the visit, and expressed his eagerness to help grow the sport in the country.
Approval of Minutes
The minutes from the meeting held on 8th – 9th March 2024 were read and approved.
Development and Strategy
Tom Pedersen-Smith presented EuroHockey’s strategy for hockey development, aligning it with the member national associations’ strategies for athletes’ careers and coaches. He also shared updates from the first six months of the EuroHockey EU project “Solidarity through Great Governance” and provided some insights into each participating member national association’s strategy. The board discussed methods to help other member associations understand and implement these strategies.
Inez Cooper and Tom Pedersen-Smith also updated the board on the new model for coaching courses and the athletes’ experiences and career pathways.
The digital transformation project is nearing completion and Tom provided an update on the work done by both internal and external stakeholders.
Communication Report
Gabriele Lemmle reported on the outdoor season of club competitions, highlighting that over 1000 players and 120 officials participated in 8 events across 7 countries, representing 64 clubs with players from 37 different nationalities. Gabriele also briefed the board on AI testing for communication content.
Finance Report
Levi Van Havere presented the statutory accounts, balance sheet report for the accounting year 2023, year-to-date figures for April 2024, and the updated budgets for 2024 and 2025.
Competitions Report
Walter Kapounek provided an update on the upcoming 2025-2026 indoor season and the 2024-2025 outdoor events. Angus Kirkland reported on the EHL 2023/2024, including a budget update and plans for the 2024/2025 season, as well as updates on EHL Hockey ID and U14/U19 competitions. He also provided information on the EHC 2025 and 2027.
Officials Report
Magdalena Nazaret updated the board on previous and upcoming officials’ education courses and presented the institute’s education courses calendar. The board discussed and fully supported mixed-gender appointments. Magdalena also covered various topics, including AWS, clothing, the officials’ portal, and upcoming priorities.
Commercial Report
Inez Cooper presented EuroHockey’s commercial journey since 2019 and the plan until 2029, emphasising priorities such as commercial deals, the Institute Business Club, OTT business case, sustainability opportunities, branding, and exposure. Angus Kirkland provided an update on the next steps for EHTV+.
Governance
Marcos Hofmann updated the board on various FIH topics. Angus Kirkland provided updates from the previous staff meeting and the plans for the General Assembly in 2024 and 2025.
The meeting concluded at 13:00 on June 15th.
