Eurohockey Indoor Junior Championship II, Zelina

As President of the European Hockey Federation it is my pleasure to welcome all the players, umpires, officials, media and the fans to Sveti Ivan Zelina!

The global situation has made the running of the sport challenging for teams, clubs and federations, so we commend the athletes, and the team management, for maintaining high standards under hard circumstances. We at EHF are very pleased to have been able to hold our U21 Indoor Championships this year, to ensure our youth hockey players have this great opportunity for international hockey.

Congratulations too to the hosts- Slaven and their team- for putting on a great event. They have worked closely with EHF staff who are very confident that it will be a top-level event.

Tournaments could not take place without officials. Our volunteers are the backbone of the sport, and we appreciate them and the time they dedicate to our events. Thank you, all!

This indoor season is one of our busiest ever, with 18 events (Junior Nations, Senior Nations, clubs) across 13 European countries. We have a very exciting and busy programme of hockey for men and women in different parts of Europe, with the EuroHockey Indoor Junior Championship IIhere in Sveti Ivan Zelina, and the other events in Nymburk (CZE), Paredes (POR) and Olten (SUI).

Travel restrictions and guidelines have all meant it is more complicated for all of us to both run and participate in these events, so we are very glad to have such a busy programme and to see such a desire to play the game.

To all the players, I’d like to say: I wish you a successful and rewarding tournament. May this tournament be one highlight of a sterling career and long life in our hockey family! Play fair, and do your team proud.

To the fans, in this proud moment, we ask you to show your support and enthusiasm in the friendly and respectful way we expect of all hockey fans.

Enjoy!