Paul Schneider was honoured with the EuroHockey Diploma of Merit in Geneva in January following his incredible services to Swiss Hockey.

He was presented with the Diploma by EuroHockey President Marcos Hofmann at the men’s EuroHockey U21 Indoor Championship, a special send-off in which the Swiss hosts took gold.

It followed a 36-year involvement with the Swiss Federation which came to an end in December. That goodbye took place at a special dinner at which the four presidents under whom he worked, many former national players and his three successors all attended.

Paul achieved so much over the years that his tasks are now divided between three people: Jair Levie (Head of Competitive Sports), Wouter Bosmans (Managing Director) and Sylvia Gerig (Coach Training).

During his time with the federation, he held various roles, including coach of the men’s national team and managing director, and was heavily involved in coach training and the collaboration with the Swiss Olympic committee and BASPO, the Swiss Federal Officer for Sport.

He travelled a lot with the national teams, attended Olympic qualification tournaments and experienced unforgettable moments such as the legendary 2-2 against Malaysia in front of 20,000 spectators.

Paying tribute to Paul’s work with the federation, the organisation stated: “With his commitment, his blood, sweat and tears, he has played a key role in the development and advancement of field hockey in Switzerland. Now he can look forward to some well-earned time to pursue new hobbies, without any obligations.

“Dear Paul, from now on you can get up on Sunday morning and decide for yourself which hockey game you want to watch – because hockey remains the most important (secondary) thing in life.

“On behalf of the entire office and the Swiss Hockey Board, we would like to thank you for everything you have done.”