International Hockey Federation to open regional office in Dubai

Dubai Sports Council announced that the International Hockey Federation (FIH) will be the first organisation to set up a regional office within its new headquarters at Dubai Design District (d3), a move that reflects the growing interest of all Summer Olympic International Federations to have permanent regional offices in Dubai.

Dubai Sports Council and FIH representatives confirmed the agreement at the SportAccord Convention 2016 in Lausanne, Switzerland, signing a memorandum of understanding (MOU).

Commenting on the announcement, Saeed Hareb, Secretary General of the Dubai Sports Council, said: "For Dubai, hospitality is central to everything we do and that makes us the perfect host for any International Federation or governing body looking to set up regional offices and stage annual conferences and meetings. As such, we are delighted to welcome FIH into Dubai’s wider sporting family and look forward to hosting their representatives in our new headquarters as we work together to promote sport both in the region and across the globe.”

Winner of the 2015 Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Creative Sports Award’s ‘International Creative Organisation Award’, the FIH joins a list of leading global sporting entities such as cricket’s International Cricket Council, golf’s European Tour and Spanish football’s La Liga that already benefit from having a presence in Dubai.

Leandro Negre, President of FIH, said: “Dubai’s world-class sporting facilities, events infrastructure and global connectivity all contribute to the city’s growing reputation as a home for international sport. For the FIH, deciding to place representatives in Dubai, sitting at the crossroads of the world and at the centre of hockey’s key markets, makes perfect sense and we are grateful to Dubai Sports Council for its kind offer and continued support of the federation.”

Dubai Sports Council will officially switch operations to its new premises in May and will provide world hockey’s governing body, and any other interested Summer Olympic International Federations, office space for up to two representatives for two years.

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