After the national indoor championships and the European Under-21 Championships in Lucerne, the increasing number of Corona cases now also has an impact on the EuroHockey indoor championships of the clubs 2021. At its online meeting on 31 October 2020, the European Hockey Federation (EHF) decided that they would not be played and would therefore be replaced in 2021.
Since several national indoor championships were also cancelled in 2021 (including in Switzerland), the EHF leaves it to the national federations to decide whether the indoor champions 2020 or 2021 will participate in the 2022 European Cup. This question does not arise in Switzerland, as unfortunately there will be no champion in 2021.
The women’s and men’s team of Rotweiss Wettingen, who qualified for the tournaments in Almere, NL (Women’s, A-Division) and Puconci, SLO (Men’s, C-Division) are directly affected. Both teams are therefore qualified for the 2022 European Cup. It is not yet clear where this will take place. However, the previous venues have priority. It is therefore expected that the two teams from Wettingen will still travel to Almere and Puconci in February 2022.
From Swiss Hockey’s point of view, the decision is inevitable. Fair competition would not be guaranteed in the case of different international starting points and regulations. The hockey family thus contributes its part to a faster improvement of the situation.