MUSCAT: The Sultanate of Oman represented by Oman Hockey Association is all set to host the 49th FIH Statutory Congress in Muscat starting from Thursday and will run until Saturday. A total of 500 participants representing 141 countries from across the world will take part in the top annual FIH meeting. The three-day event will take place at the Sheraton Hotel in Muscat. This edition of the Congress is a special event as FIH is celebrating its 100 years anniversary.
A series of events will be held during 49th FIH Statutory Congress including FIH Executive Board meeting which will be the first event as it will take place on Thursday during morning session. This meeting will be followed by continental federations meetings which will occur during the afternoon session while the day will conclude with pro league meeting discussion in the evening session.
On Friday, the day will begin with FIH Empowerment and Engagement Forum starting from 9:00 am and will run until 17:00. Later, the FIH continental and awards nights event will be held and all the individual stars for this season will be unveiled.
The concluding day on Saturday will feature the 49th FIH Congress which will begin at 9:00 am and will end at 15:00. The Congress meeting will be followed by FIH Executive Board Meeting and then a press conference for media representatives to unveil the key matters discussed and outcomes of the congress. The Congress will include also electing the FIH's new board directors for the upcoming term.
All the FIH Congress meetings will cover various ideas and proposals aimed at advancing the sport of hockey on multiple levels. The Congress participants will discuss and review several reports and presentations from different associations including the French Hockey Association who will highlighted on the strategy and legacy benefits from hosting the Paris 2024 Olympics. The Belgian and Dutch Hockey Associations will unveil the 2026 FIH World Cup that they’re co-hosting while the Croatian Hockey Association is gearing up to host their first-ever FIH World Cup – namely, the FIH Indoor Hockey World Cup – in February.
Dato Tayyab Ikram, President of the International Hockey Federation (FIH), affirmed that Oman has a deep-rooted history in hockey with the sport having been established in the Sultanate of Oman long ago. “Hosting the FIH Congress in Oman coincides with the centennial of the federation, founded in 1924 adding even more significance to this annual event,” he said.
“Oman’s recent successes in hosting regional, continental and international hockey tournaments including Hockey5s Asia Cup in Salalah last year, FIH Hockey Olympic Qualifiers in Muscat and FIH Hockey5s World Cup Oman 2024 in last January at the state-of-the-art facility (Oman Hockey Stadium) in Al Amerat. This series of successful events paved the way for Oman to be selected to host the International Hockey Congress, bringing together representatives from all FIH member nations to discuss and develop hockey sport in Muscat,” he added.
Ikram opined that the timing of the Congress is ideal following Oman’s recent achievements in hosting major international hockey events. “The meetings will cover crucial topics and strategic plans that will shape the sport’s direction for the next years with discussions focused on key strategic objectives.”
“The FIH Empowerment and Engagement Forum will include several discussions including empowering different hockey stakeholders including Continental Federations (CFs) and the National Associations (NAs) to discuss and lead the development of hockey in their respective continents and countries and engaging with all FIH members and hockey stakeholders,” Ikram said.
Highlighting on the main topics and areas of discussion on the Congress day, Dato Tayyab responded:” The main Congress will cover an intensive agenda including presidential, administrative, technical and financial reports. Starting early in the morning and running until the afternoon, the meeting aims to bring significant decisions and update core regulations. The Congress will also include elections for various positions, marking a new phase in FIH leadership,” he ended.
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