Dear Asian Hockey Family,
With this message, I would like to give our beloved hockey family an update on the development activities that have been carried out by the Asian Hockey Federation during these past few months.
First and foremost, on the list of development activities carried out recently is the ‘Development Through Distance Online Learning Initiative’. The Asian Hockey Federation has carried out a total of 80+ workshops and courses, 2000+ participants have been educated, and 12+ FIH experts have been engaged to carry out the education, since the inception of the program in May 2020. We have educated people from across Asia and Africa in the workshops, and exclusive workshops have been held for both Pakistan Hockey Federation and Hockey India. The focus of the workshops has been on Coaching, Umpiring, Hockey 5s, Technical Official courses, and Indoor Hockey. We successfully held the first-ever Indoor Hockey Forum, which saw 100+ concurrent participants and was praised by many as being a valuable and informative learning experience. The ‘Development through Distance Initiative’ is still on-going, with the calendar for September finalized and workshops and courses already underway.
Secondly, The Asian Hockey Federation initiated a Special Pandemic Development Package for several National Associations impacted by COVID-19. Our aim was to develop a beneficial plan that provided support with the delivery of hockey equipment to help develop the sport in such unprecedented times and help stabilize their sports structure. This project is well under process with further national associations with challenging circumstances are being identified to help the development of Hockey in their country through this very special package.
Lastly, the Asian Hockey Federation is offering Development Nations support in the form of the Youth Development Pathway Programme. Under this programme, the AHF is providing guidelines to young athletes in developing nations so that they might have a bright future in the sport of hockey. This type of grass-roots approach has been a mainstay in our strategy for development in developing countries and has been proven in the past to be an extremely effective method of promoting development in the long-run.
Due to strict travel restrictions, our development activities have seen severe disruptions. However, in the face of this challenge we have risen and despite the odds are trying our level best to engage our audiences, turning a challenge into an opportunity that can be carried forward into the future.
I would like to close this update by wishing you all the best of health and hope that you all stay safe during this global crisis.
