International Hockey Federation Explained

International Hockey Federation
Full Name:French: Fédération Internationale de Hockey
Abbreviation:FIH
Founding Location:Paris, France
Type:Sports federation
Status:Governing body of:
Field hockey
Indoor hockey
Hockey5s
Purpose:Sport governance
Headquarters:Lausanne, Switzerland
Region Served:Worldwide
Membership:140 national associations
Language:English, French[1]
Leader Title:President
Leader Name:Tayyab Ikram[2]
Leader Title2:CEO
Leader Name2:Thierry Weil
Main Organ:Congress
Affiliations:International Olympic Committee

The Fédération Internationale de Hockey (English: International Hockey Federation), commonly known by the acronym FIH, is the international governing body of field hockey and indoor field hockey. Its headquarters are in Lausanne, Switzerland. FIH is responsible for field hockey's major international tournaments, notably the Hockey World Cup.

History

FIH was founded on 7 January 1924 in Paris by Paul Léautey, who became the first president, in response to field hockey's omission from the programme of the 1924 Summer Olympics.[3] First members complete to join the seven founding members were Austria, Belgium, Czechoslovakia, France, Hungary, Spain, and Switzerland.[4]

In 1982, the FIH merged with the International Federation of Women's Hockey Associations (IFWHA), which had been founded in 1927 by Australia, Denmark, England, Ireland, Scotland, South Africa, the United States, and Wales.

The organisation has been based in Lausanne, Switzerland since 2005, having moved from Brussels, Belgium.

In response to the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, the FIH banned Russia from the 2022 Women's FIH Hockey Junior World Cup, and banned Russian and Belarusian officials from FIH events.[5]

Structure

In total, there are 140 member associations within the five confederations recognised by FIH. This includes Great Britain which is recognised as an adherent member of FIH, the team was represented at the Olympics and the Champions Trophy. England, Scotland and Wales are also represented by separate teams in FIH sanctioned tournaments.

AfHF – African Hockey Federation

AHF – Asian Hockey Federation

EHF – European Hockey Federation

OHF – Oceania Hockey Federation

PAHF – Pan American Hockey Federation

The FIH World Rankings was updated once after the major tournament finished, based on FIH sanction tournaments.

Presidents

The following is a list of presidents of FIH:[6]

Presidents of FIH! No. !! Name !! Country !! Took office !! Left office !! Note
1Paul Léautey 1924 1926
2Frantz Reichel 1926 1932
3Marc Bellin du Côteau 1932 1936
4Georg Evers 1936 1945
Robert Liégeois 1945 1946 Acting
5Jaap Quarles van Ufford 1946 1966
6Rene Frank 1966 1983
7Étienne Glichitch 1983 1996
8Juan Calzado 1996 2001
9Els van Breda Vriesman 2001 2008
10Leandro Negre 2008 2016
11Narinder Dhruv Batra 2016 2022
Seif El Dine Ahmed 2022 2022 Acting
12Tayyab Ikram 2022 Incumbent

Recognition and awards

The Player of the Year Awards have been given annually since 1998 for men and women, while the young category was added in 2001 to honour the best performances for junior players (under 21).

The FIH also has twelve Honorary awards, which were given to people who have made outstanding contributions to field hockey.[7]

FIH tournaments

Major

FormatHockeyIndoor HockeyHockey5s
MenOlympic Games[a]Indoor Hockey World CupHockey5s World Cup
Hockey World Cup
Pro League
WomenOlympic Games[a]Indoor Hockey World CupHockey5s World Cup
Hockey World Cup
Pro League
Under-21 MenHockey Junior World CupYouth Olympic Games[a]
Under-21 WomenWomen's Hockey Junior World CupYouth Olympic Games[a]
[a] in cooperation with International Olympic Committee

Minor

Other

Title holders

CompetitionCurrentChampionsDetailsRunners-upNext
Men's national teams
Olympic GamesFinal
Hockey World Cup2023Final2026
Pro League2023–24RR2024–25
Hockey Nations Cup2023–24Final2025
Hockey Junior World Cup (U-21)2023Final2025
Indoor Hockey World Cup2023Final2025
Hockey5s World Cup2024Final
Youth Olympic Games (U-21)2018Final2026
Women's national teams
Olympic GamesFinal
Hockey World Cup2022Final2026
Pro League2023–24RR2024–25
Hockey Nations Cup2023–24Final2025
Hockey Junior World Cup (U-21)2023Final2025
Indoor Hockey World Cup2023Final2025
Hockey5s World Cup2024Final
Youth Olympic Games (U-21)2018Final2026

Partners

The following are the partners of the International Hockey Federation:[8]

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: International Hockey Federation Statutes. FIH. 28 October 2012. https://web.archive.org/web/20110812073807/http://www.fih.ch/files/Sport/Coaching/FIH%20Statutes%20and%20Bylaws.pdf. 12 August 2011. live.
  2. Web site: Tayyab Ikram (MAC) elected as new President of FIH . FIH . 5 November 2022 . 5 November 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20221105135339/https://www.fih.hockey/events/congress/48th-fih-congress/news/tayyab-ikram-mac-elected-as-new-president-of-fih . live .
  3. Web site: Sathe. Mukund. Paul Léautey. 2021-04-01. This Day in History. en. 22 June 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210622162619/https://mukundsathe.com/tag/paul-leautey/. live.
  4. Web site: History FIH . 2024-02-02 . International Hockey Federation . en.
  5. Web site: 2022-03-18 . FIH reiterates full support to Ukraine’s hockey community . 2022-03-22 . FIH . 26 March 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220326201156/http://www.fih.ch/news/fih-reiterates-full-support-to-ukraine-s-hockey-community/ . live .
  6. Web site: Hockey . Olympedia . 16 December 2022 . 15 December 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20221215190142/https://www.olympedia.org/sports/HOC . live .
  7. Web site: Honorary Awards FIH Hockey Awards . 2024-02-02 . International Hockey Federation . en.
  8. Web site: International Hockey Federation. FIH. 28 October 2012. 17 June 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20160617225608/http://www.fih.ch/. live.