The EHF is delighted to announce that in conjunction with a number of our Member Associations and clubs we have been successful in securing European Union funding for important hockey projects around Europe.
EU Fund: Small Collaborative Partnerships
Title: The mobilisation of volunteerism through good governance
Lead Partner: European Hockey Federation
Partners: Czech Republic, Sumy Regional Federation of Ukraine, KNHB and ‘s Hertogenbosch HC.
Project length: 24 months
To mobilise volunteers through good governance the European Hockey Federation will support federations to build full governance structures. Thereby supporting a range of volunteer teams of administrators, coaches, and officials by providing practical and continued support through the sharing of experience and skills.
This will be monitored by –
- increasing gender balance;
- safeguarding of safe sports environments;
- increasing of club hockey and regional hockey representation;
The project will forge an atmosphere of trust, respect and understanding, and increase awareness of and promote positive governance policy for volunteer-led not-for-profit federations and includes the aim of equitable and equality driven systems.
Title: Best Practice Sharing of Innovative and Disruptive Field Hockey Skills
Lead Partner: Czech Republic Hockey Federation
Partners: Poland, Austria, European Hockey Federation, KNHB and ‘s Hertogenbosch HC.
Project length: 24 months
Europe is considered a hockey stronghold, frequently taking medal places in different world events. As hockey is a fast developing sport it is necessary to intensively follow up on trends to stay competitive on the international scene.
The Czech, Polish and Austrian Federations have agreed to team up with the ‘s Hertogenbosch HC and the KNHB to improve the skill sets among the different countries with the aim to promote education and knowledge sharing among trainers/coaches. Though hockey is played both outdoor and indoor, the focus will be on outdoor as there is a fairly large gap between the countries in the project.
In announcing the funding the EHF President, Marijke Fleuren said “Since the move of the EHF offices from Dublin to Brussels in 2008 we have been developing closer ties with the European Union in order to understand and establish how the organisations within the EU could be of benefit to the growth of European hockey. The projects that have been awarded funding reflect the core objectives of the EHF and the work that we have been doing within our own funds over the last number of years. There is no doubt that with the financial and logistical support of the EU we can elevate and fast-track a number of projects that will enable us to deliver the targets set in our Strategic Plan 2017 – 2024. I would especially like to commend our Education and Development Manager Tom Pedersen-Smith for his diligent efforts to ensure that hockey is now firmly on the EU funding map! I am very excited about us and our Members delivering quality projects and to see the gap in good governance, coaching and gender balance narrowing over the coming 3 years. It is indeed a 3 out of 3 wins for hockey.”
Details of the projects and progress will be posted on our website over the coming months and years.