Marcos Hofmann was elected as the new President of EuroHockey following a vote at the 35th General Assembly of the organisation.
The Spaniard – from the Junior FC club in Sant Cugat – takes over the reins from Marijke Fleuren whose tenure came to an end after 12 wonderful years at the Assembly.
Hofmann becomes the sixth president of the federation, winning the majority of votes in a well-contested election with Peter Elders.
In an emotional speech, he spoke about the strength of the hockey family and how much it means to take on the role of helping guide EuroHockey and how he hopes to serve ‘his tribe’.
“I am grateful for the support and humbled by the challenge in front of me to lead EuroHockey, the big house of European hockey where no one is left behind and everybody should feel like it’s their home.”
He also paid a fulsome tribute to Marijke Fleuren, acknowledging he will be standing on the shoulder of a giant of the sport and European hockey.
Earlier at the assembly, she was awarded the title of Honorary Lifetime President – a title only bestowed to the late Alain Danet before.
“Thank you very much for the inspiration – I wanted to congratulate her for being Honorary Lifetime President but I think it is also fair to congratulate all of us for getting Marijke as our Honorary Lifetime President – an asset to this federation and the best ambassador we could get.”
He takes over the role from Marijke Fleuren who steps back after 12-years, her journey going full circle – elected to the Presidency in 2011 in Mönchengladbach, the host city of the assembly once again.
In addition to receiving the Honorary Lifetime Presidency, FIH President Tayyab Ikram announced she will be put forward as a nominee for the International Olympic Committee’s Gender Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Champion. She was also bestowed with and FIH Excellence Award.
Her immense contribution to EuroHockey was showcased through a video of her 12 years in the role with special tributes from the likes of Jamie Hooper and Julia Müller for her range of initiatives, chief among them her passion for promoting HockeyID, the #EquallyAmazing campaign and her introduction of the Hall of Fame to honour elite athletes.
It all took place in front of not just the delegates of the assembly but with each generation of her family in the audience for a fitting tribute.
Others to be honoured were Simon Mason, Mika Rihtila and Sabine Zampetti whose time on the board came to a close following incredible service to the organisation.
The meeting also saw the election of a number of new board members. Belgium’s Levi van Havere will take on the role of Treasurer with Cathelijne Rockall (from the Netherlands but supported by France), Magdalena Nazaret (Poland), Bruno Santos (Portugal) and Christos Sideridis (Greece) all joining the board.
