INTERNATIONAL HOCKEY FEDERATION (FIH) President NARINDER BATRA has succeeded LEANDRO NEGRE as head of the governing body’s Hockey Foundation.
A spokesperson for the FIH confirmed BATRA was elected to the position by the members of the Hockey Foundation’s Board.
The Indian official takes over from NEGRE, the Spaniard who led the FIH from 2008 to 2016.
NEGRE was chosen to lead the Hockey Foundation, the FIH’s development and charity arm, to serve a four-year term in 2015.
He presented his resignation in 2017 as he was no longer President of the FIH but it was rejected by BATRA, allowing the Spaniard to complete a full four-year stint in the role.
NEGRE’S term came to an end in July and he was subsequently replaced by BATRA, elected FIH President in November 2016.
BATRA adds the Presidency of the Hockey Foundation, which aims to promote and develop the sport across the world, to his other roles as head of the FIH and the INDIAN OLYMPIC ASSOCIATION.
The Hockey Foundation bolstered its operation with the appointment of Englishman MIKE JOYCE as executive director last year.
JOYCE joined the Lausanne-based body from the sports department of the INTERNATIONAL OLYMPIC COMMITTEE.
The Hockey Foundation and the FIH agreed to develop a joint global development strategy in June 2018 entitled “Hockey2024”, which was launched at the FIH Congress in New Delhi the following November.
