ADIHIC at the Forum “Russia — the Islamic World”

22.05.2023

The international event took place in Kazan on May, 18-20 at the venues of the “Kazan Expo” IEC with the participation of representatives from 84 countries.

During the forum, a meeting of the heads of ADIHIC was held with representatives of ice hockey federations, winter sports of the countries of the Islamic world, which are interested in the cooperation with the ADIHIC. The parties demonstrated full solidarity with the objectives of the ADIHIC again. Namely, the development of hockey in countries where the main religion is Islam, the popularization of sports, as well as scientific and cultural exchange. Representatives of Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan and Mongolia highly appreciated the results of the training sessions for children from these countries at the Hockey Training Center, which is part of the Ak Bars Hockey Academy. The Academy, in its turn, expressed its readiness to help children representing other foreign hockey federations.

As a result of the constructive dialogue, a plan of further actions for the development of ADIHIC was approved. In the near future, four working groups will be formed on: the audit of infrastructure and equipment; training of players, coaches and referees; introduction of hockey popularization tools; holding games and tournaments. The composition of the groups is planned to be made international.

In addition, proposals from individual countries were accepted. For example, joint work will be launched with the National University of Iran to include the field of ice hockey in educational programs, and it is also possible to hold a hockey tournament in Iran in 2024. The resolution adopting these and other initiatives for the development of ADIHIC was signed by representatives of Russia, Bahrain, Kyrgyzstan, the UAE, the Islamic Republic of Iran, the Saudi Winter Games Club, Kazakhstan, Mongolia.

ADIHIC also presented a stand in which it showed the first achievements in the development of children’s and adult hockey in the Middle East and Central Asian regions. The stand of ADIHIC has become one of the most popular and also most visited stands throughout the forum. Hundreds of people have been tested for strength and agility (the same exercises are performed by professional athletes), checked the condition of the body using medical equipment. Many guests of the event picked up sticks for the first time in their lives and tried to hit the hockey goal with a real puck.