Federations running on outdated constitutions, lack of information, financial woes, non-registration of players and poor coaching modules are some of the vices that plague Indian hockey, according to an expert report.
The much-anticipated and confidential report by Bob Davidzson, the International Hockey Federation (FIH) observer, to the Indian Hockey Confederation (IHC) lists umpteen ailments that have been ruining the sport in the country over the years.
The initiative, started by the FIH and funded by 'Olympic Solidarity' of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), had empowered Davidzson, a former Marketing Committee chairman of the FIH, to draft the status of Indian hockey.
Davidzson, after over 40 meetings with various stakeholders of the sport in India, submitted a report to the FIH, a copy of which is with PTI.
Identifying 14 areas of concern, the report says that the Indian Hockey Federation (IHF) and the Indian Women's Hockey Federation (IWHF) basically run on "outdated" constitutions which lack clear responsibilities and tasks of committees in place.
Besides, it says, the constitution of the IHC, founded in 2000 to comply with the guidelines of the FIH as the sole body for men and women's hockey in India, is "incomplete and confusing" and "looks a paper exercise".
The report raps the IHF and IWHF for having "hardly any cooperation" between them and has put a question mark over their election procedure.
Davidzson's report takes strong exception to the fact that there is simply not enough information about the state of the game in the country.
"Website of IHF outdated and incomplete, no website of IWHF or IHC, no formal easy to find e-mail addresses of these organisations, incidental press releases about good news only, lack of information, difficult to approach for press even when misquoted" are some of the concerns the report has underlined.
Taking note that a sound financial basis is essential, the FIH report says areas like "present financial situation, follow-up to comments of auditors, choice of auditors, affiliation fee of FIH and sponsor income" should be taken care of.
On the front of marketing and sponsoring, the Davidzson document says there are no clear strategies.
Underscoring that federations can no longer be run effectively by honorary officers, the report stresses "professional support from a well-equipped office is a pre-condition to supply the necessary support and execute agreed plans".
On hockey specific aspects, it has sought improvement on points like "selection procedure of players and team management, talent scouting, camp strategy/accommodation, exposure to foreign hockey, masterplan coaching for junior players, code of conduct and remuneration of players/staff".
Pointing out that there are no national records on the existing 30 synthetic pitches available in the country, the report suggests allocation of new pitches to the Sports Authority of India and different states and their proper maintenance.
The report also lays stress on development on various aspects of the sport including medicine, umpiring, coaching and youth development.
