FIH President Tayyab Ikram commented on his recent interaction with key stakeholders of the US hockey community and his visit of the US Performance Center in Charlotte, North Carolina:
"With the Los Angeles Olympics fewer than 1,000 days away, there is a wonderful opportunity for hockey to increase its profile in the United States. This is why I made a point of going there recently, meeting USA Field Hockey leaders, the national teams, and also attending NCAA matches, since, as is well known, university sport is developed in the USA like nowhere else in the world.
I also had the chance to visit the US Performance Center in Charlotte, North Carolina. A state-of-the-art facility providing athletes with healthcare tools, research and groundbreaking technologies for the benefits of athletes. I was very impressed!
Looking back on my visit, I can confidently assert that the potential for hockey to grow in the United States is immense. Athletes, coaches, high-performance team and administrators are all working towards a single goal: to perform at their peak in less than three years, when the eyes of the world will be on LA.
I will ensure that, together with FIH, we engage frequently with the main hockey stakeholders in the US to support the growth of the game. This objective must be the primary legacy of the next Olympiad."
