International body president Els van Breda Vriesman on Charlesworth and India’s chances of hosting the World Cup “Whether he returns to India or not is not up to the FIH now. It has to be decided by the IOA, whether they want him to continue working in India. And on Ric himself, whether he wants to come back. The FIH doesn’t have any more role to play in his working in India” Els van Breda Vriesman

WITH Indian hockey going through a period of major change, there are several issues that need to be resolved. And the presence of FIH president Els van Breda Vriesman in Hyderabad for a meeting with the IOA ad-hoc committee indicates the world body is serious about addressing these. While she remained non-committal on whether India would finally get to host the World Cup in 2010, Vriesman spoke to The Indian Express on several matters, including the latest controversy surrounding Ric Charlesworth.

What is the status of Project Indian Hockey? ¦ The project is well on track. The project director, Bob Davidzon, has completed his report and submitted his recommendations, copies of which are with us and the IOA. The project is now ready to be implemented and the IOA has to take charge of the operational part of the project. I hope it will happen soon.

Getting Ric Charlesworth to India was one of the important aspects of the project. What is the FIH’s stand on the issue after the recent controversies? ¦ As far as we are concerned, Charlesworth’s role as a technical advisor is over. He has completed his study, submitted the reports and finished his job. He was in India in the capacity of a technical advisor and he has given his views on the development of Indian hockey, which is confidential, and a copy of which is with Mohammad Aslam Khan in his capacity as the convenor of the IOA ad-hoc committee. As far as the FIH is concerned, he has finished what he came here for.

Does that mean that he will not be returning to India? What about his contract? ¦ Whether he returns to India or not is not up to the FIH now. It has to be de cided by the IOA whether they want him to continue working in India. And on Ric himself, whether he wants to come back and continue working here. On our part, the FIH doesn’t have any more role to play in Charlesworth’s working in India.

What we can do, and will do if asked, is help iron out any wrinkles in the deal that may be worked out between the concerned parties.

There has been speculation that Charlesworth’s appointment and his continuation with Indian hockey is intricately linked to India being finally awarded the 2010 World Cup.¦ The Charlesworth issue has no connection to the 2010 World Cup. The World Cup is, of course, directly linked to the implementation and the success of the recommendations of Project Indian Hockey.

Now that the project is ready to be implemented, we hope the IOA will start work on it without delay.

So, what is the exact status of the 2010 World Cup? ¦ See, the previous Memorandum of Understanding (signed with the Indian Hockey Confederation) stands cancelled, now that there is no IHC. We will formally meet on Friday with the IOA ad-hoc committee members and then decide where to go from here.

Awarding the World Cup depends on a lot of things, including whether the new administration under the IOA wants to and feels it’s ready to host it, who would be the organiser, what would be the precise role of the concerned parties, whether we think India will be ready for the event within 18 months, and several other issues. Once the issues are resolved and the venue finalised, we have to get it approved form the FIH executive board at our meeting in Beijing during the Olympics.

Then we might sign a fresh MoU and get down to the groundwork.

So, back to the question: What are the chances of India hosting it?

¦ On my part, I would like to see the World Cup being held in India. And any help that may be needed from the FIH will be forthcoming. Our effort is to promote hockey across the world, including India. It is all a matter of trust and confidence in each other. And I have enough trust in their (IOA’s) passion and eagerness to get things right and get Indian hockey back on top and hopefully get the World Cup to India.

If you feel India is not ready for the World Cup, are there any alternative bids to host the event? ¦ Yes, we have requests from three other national associations but I cannot reveal the names now (Malaysia is already confirmed as one of the bidders).

Finally, with the IHF suspended and the administration in the hands of the IOA ad-hoc committee, which body does the FIH recognise as the official representative of Indian hockey? Would the FIH insist on early elections? ¦ Yes, we would like to see elections held and a new set of office-bearers elected as soon as possible to handle the administrative affairs of Indian hockey. The ad-hoc committee is just that – ad-hoc – and they have a lot of other work too on their hands. We would like to see a fresh set-up soon.