NOS Sport•vandaag, 12:22
Jonna ter Veer
editor NOS Sport
Jonna ter Veer
editor NOS Sport
Petition against the KNHB decision: ‘Death blow for indoor hockey’
Friday afternoon, September 29, 3:29 PM. A message from the Dutch hockey association will appear in the inbox of indoor hockey internationals with the subject ‘EC indoor hockey 2024’.
The association reports that it has withdrawn the Dutch indoor hockey teams from all international tournaments. A slap in the face of the sport in which the Dutch team has excelled for years.
“My international career is over in one go – via email,” says Dutch player Elin van Erk excitedly. She still can’t understand it. She won the last world championship, in February this year. “I’m not even allowed to defend my World Cup title.”
Pro ShotsEK 2018
She is one together with other indoor hockey enthusiasts petition started, asking the union to reverse this decision.
Multiple indoor international Teun Rohof, who won a silver medal at this World Cup with the men, is also disappointed: “Twenty years of work in the waste bin.” Rohof had hoped to continue his indoor career as a national coach.
Unplug, why?
Why does the association choose to pull the plug on international indoor hockey? No one at the KNHB wants to respond to questions, despite repeated requests. “We stick to the explanation given earlier hockey.nl could be read,” says technical director Clarinda Sinnige.
In that piece, Sinnige gives the overcrowded calendar as the main reason. “For the various national teams we partly draw from the same group of players. We cannot rely on that indefinitely.”
The federal decision raises many questions. Internationals are affected that they were never known in this decision. “Everything can be solved,” says Van Erk. “Involved us in your decision. Why didn’t you?”
The timing is also remarkable: twelve days after the deadline for withdrawal from the 2024 European Championship venue – which had already been postponed by two months. As a result, the hockey association will be subject to fines and other sanctions. The Netherlands will not be able to compete at top level in the European Championships until 2030 at the earliest.
ANPTeun Rohof (bottom left, after World Cup win in 2015)
Why suddenly stop after fifty years? Why not wait until after the European Championship? So many questions after the sudden decision, but the association refuses any further explanation.
In the digital letter to internationals, which is in the hands of the NOS, the hockey association cites the busy international playing calendar as the main reason. The association writes that there are “too many tournaments and too many game formats”.
Playing calendar too full?
The KNHB cites the full tournament calendar as an argument for stopping indoor hockey. What does that one look like?
New:
FIH Pro League, international field competition since 2019
World Hockey 5s World Cup, first edition in 2024. (The KNHB will stop 5s at international level after the World Cup.)
What has remained the same:
World Cup (field and indoor) – every 4 years
Olympic Games – every 4 years
European Championships (field and indoor) – every two years
Euro Hockey League (field) – annual
Source: EuroHockey
But how much busier has the tournament calendar become? The FIH Pro League was indeed added in 2019 (an international field tournament) and since 2022 the Hockey 5s.
However, there does not appear to be any overload among the Dutch players. “The selections for field and indoor hockey consist of different players,” says Van Erk.
In the letter, the association also wonders how to ensure that “this remains financially possible”. Van Erk indicates that indoor hockey players earn nothing and that they would have liked to start a crowdfunding campaign for all costs. “We had already arranged free training locations.”
Why did the union act this way? What does it mean that the KNHB remains tight-lipped and refuses to answer questions about this drastic decision?
EuroHockey is concerned about the future. “The consequences are major, for both teams, but also for indoor hockey in general,” says chairman Marcos Hofmann.
To punish
The penalties for a late withdrawal from the European Indoor Hockey Championships are not lenient. The Dutch hockey association will in any case receive a fine per team, which can amount to a maximum of 20 thousand euros. They have lost the registration fee. They may also have to pay a fine to the organizing countries due to lost income. A decision will only be made after the European Championship.
The Netherlands will be relegated to the second division of the 2026 European Championships and will only be allowed to attempt to join the top class of the 2030 European Championships in 2028, according to EuroHockey.
Hofmann advised the union to first enter into consultation; not only internally, but also with the teams themselves.
He is disappointed in the timing. “The KNHB informed us on September 12 that it wanted to withdraw both teams. The official deadline was August 31. The final confirmation came on September 28.”
What now?
Is there a chance that the decision will be reversed by the KNHB? Only the association can answer that. EuroHockey has already found at least two replacements for the Dutch teams with Italy (women) and Portugal (men).
Van Erk assumes that she will never play for the Dutch national team again. “Maybe my children will later.”
2023-10-14 10:22:21
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