The Hockey Business Forum, the annual event hosted by the Alliance of European Hockey Clubs, is where representatives from various clubs, leagues, governing bodies and other interested parties discuss ways to grow the business of the sport.
This year, one of the key speakers of this year’s three-day Forum, held last week in Bratislava, Slovakia, was newly-elected IIHF President Franz Reindl.
“Being here among so many familiar faces and getting to speak, connect and re-connect to the base of European hockey is something that is very important to me and I really like it,” Reindl began.
In an open Q&A session, President Reindl was asked by event emcee Mike Helber about what needs to be done to strengthen the relationship between the IIHF and clubs and leagues around the world. Reindl mentioned three things:
“The most important thing for me is always having a united calendar,” Reindl began. “We’re all using the same players and this is a critical moment. We have to share our opinions, we have to share our needs, we have to work together and get the best players at the best tournaments, both national and international. There are a lot of ice hockey games being played, so we’ve all got to sit together and find a way to fit them into the calendar.
“That’s the first focus – the second is financial,” Reindl continued. “I was manager of a club in the German second league and I know how hard it is to fill the arena on a Tuesday night. Clubs are working hard to make the finances work and we have to find ways to help each other.”
The third thing Reindl wants to focus on is the sport’s visibility.
“Other than football – I consider ice hockey to be the number one team sport in Europe,” he said. “But still, ice hockey has a lot of competition out there with other winter and summer sports, and so we have to be visible – our teams and our players – on social media and other platforms.”
“The women’s ice hockey at the Olympic Games in Milan was outstanding,” said Reindl. “The ice hockey was excellent, and you could see the interest from the media and fans is already there. We need to build on that, to open and invest more at the club level. Some places, like Sweden and Switzerland, are already doing great, but other countries are a bit more conservative. The potential for growth in women’s hockey is huge and we have to capitalize on that.”
The IIHF was represented by President Reindl, as well as Chief Operating & Legal Officer and Deputy Director General Ashley Ehlert, Head of Women’s Sport Tuula Pupputti and Manager of 3x3 Hockey Florian Mayer, who were among the guest speakers at the event.