IHF chief asks for strategic map

The International Hockey Federation president, Leandro Negre, has requested Bangladesh to prepare a strategic map after his assistance was sought for the development of hockey.
‘My proposal to Bangladesh Hockey Federation, Olympic Association and the sports ministry was to make a strategic map for the development of Bangladesh hockey covering
all aspects and sign a Memorandum of Understanding as soon as possible,’ Negre told a press conference on Friday.
‘Bangladesh is a very important country for hockey because this country loves hockey. It is surrounded by some hockey giants and for this, the FIH takes Bangladesh as
a key country in Asia,’ Negre said at the Bangladesh Olympic Association auditorium.
The BHF sought his assistance for two astro-turfs, installation of floodlights at the Maulana Bhasani Hockey Stadium, a high-profile coach for a long duration and
creating opportunities for the Bangladeshi players to play in leagues in Europe.
‘I can’t make any promise at the moment but we will work together to find out the way,’ said Negre.
‘We will try our best to provide artificial hockey pitches as FIH has good contact with the suppliers and with lighting we can make a nice promotion here.
‘I don’t want to talk just for the sake of talking and I am a man who tries to achieve what I say,’ said the Spaniard, who won 32 international caps for his national
side and played in the 1968 Olympics in Mexico.
Negre was impressed after observing the Maulana Bhasani Hockey Stadium and at one stage asked whether the stadium was used as a football ground once. He also visited
the Armanitola School in old Dhaka, the breeding ground for many hockey players in Bangladesh.
He praised Bangladesh for their success in the World Hockey League, where they advanced to the second round. He promised to watch a few matches of Bangladesh in the second round in New Delhi.