Rule Change: 4Q dose another self goal for FIH

When cornered by the Olympic Organizing Committee in 1976, the Federation Internationale de Hockey (FIH) did not stand up, but buckled.

Canadian Olympic Committee asked it to bend, but FIH Crawled.

It agreed to play on synthetic surface, and then it claimed it will change hockey forever.

The surface on the face of it did not change anything for hockey except bringing vast reduction in playing surfaces across the globe; African continent for an instant may not have more than 50 of them collectively!

When after the Atlanta Olympics when the offside rule was introduced, Federation Internationale de hockey predicted transformation of hockey. It has not happened exactly.

What has resulted in sum so far is that it was about to be dropped from the future Olympic ambit, but just survived. It’s a proof change of surface, removal of off side, or introduction of substitutions and alike did not yield any tangiable result to hockey attain mass profile.

The FIH, used to its wisdom that tinkering with rules is the only way forward to popularize its baby, is at it again.

Self start rule introduced in the rule book before the last Olympics, the short-lived own-goal etc etc made only cosmetic changes to hockey’s appeal. But the FIH will not stop.

Unlike football, hockey has the sadistic pleasure of killing itself under the much-sold, much more defeatist wisdom.

Hockey was played for 70 minutes since modern game started appearing in the Olympic arena, starting from early 1900s.
Then came the Leagues in India, which folded quicker than they came, where the concept of four quarter was introduced.

The premier hockey league where this was introduced did not survive, contrarily it was moving to point of no return. Neither did hockey benefit nor the television channel it promoted.
Then came, and we forget for a awhile WSH, the Hockey India League, which is surely global hockey world’s costliest property, with the same 4Q concept.

HIL is a good one, but is on its infancy. First year saw only five teams, next year saw only one more team addition, that too from the government department, and now with Sahara chief in jail, things may be back to square.

HIL though is an improving asset, and has a long way to go before it establish itself as success. In Indian context it did not enthuse two sections that count in India – cinema and cricket.

Now, with the football league on the anvil, IPL franchises and cine world jump in. It did not happen in HIL. It struggles.

The point here is HIL experiment is still going on, nothing conclusively established of its grand success though we wish it to be so, and it has made a lot of players millionaires.

How meanwhile the FIH found one of the technical aspect of the game as it was played in HIL, will be its future vista?

The 4Q rule it has now brought out is borne out of HIL; will the same be launching pad of future hockey.
Football has not changed any rule, played for 90 minutes with just one break. Commercials endorse, and the sport is on world’s top.

What is the problem for hockey?

Its lack of quality tournaments and events that are the problems for hockey’s present low profile, not the rules.

FIH’s focus, on the face of it seems, only selling the game to television and bowing to their diktats instead of preserving the game’s virtues.