Luc Tardif, the successor to René Fasel at the helm of the Ice Hockey World Federation IIHF, spoke to Keystone-SDA about the challenges that await him.
29.03.2025, 05:01
29.03.2025, 08:06
SDA
Tardif, who celebrates his 72nd birthday on Saturday, was responsible for finances at the world governing body for ten years and therefore knew very well how demanding the pile of files that awaits him is even before the handover in September 2021 - including the international calendar, the participation of NHL players in the Olympic Games, and the lockout against Russia and Belarus.
Luc Tardif, some people are calling for the World Championship to be held every two years. René Fasel replied that the competition was necessary every year in order to finance other IIHF projects. What is the situation today?
"We have contractual obligations until 2033. This means that if we change the period between the World Championships, we have to renegotiate this contract, which was signed before the coronavirus crisis and the war in Ukraine and is therefore advantageous for us. Before you change the rhythm of the World Championship, you have to adjust the entire international schedule anyway."
How do you see the competition from the NHL, which has organized a tournament with Canada, the USA, Finland and Sweden in February?
"With the NHL wanting to come to Europe, we'll have to adjust the calendar in the medium term. It's primarily about the market situation. There is a trend. The NBA wants to set up a league in Europe, the football clubs have talked about a Super League. You can see that private companies are outstripping the associations or organizations like ours. But if the IIHF no longer fully funds operations that are not profitable, it will be difficult to keep them going. We've made great strides in women's sports, but we can't capitalize on that today."
The IIHF has to fight for its sport?
"We have 84 member countries and four divisions. Nobody but the IIHF will finance these events. Certainly not private leagues with shareholders who have to be satisfied. These are the challenges of today. But we are not the only ones. I recently spoke to the president of the triathlon federation, who has to fight against private companies that organize competitions with attractive prize money. We are at a crossroads."
Surely it's not easy to negotiate with the NHL?
"We feel a bit like Greenland, but we will defend our interests as best we can. We see that in the expansion efforts of the NBA and the NFL with games all over the world. So when we talk to the NHL and the players' association NHLPA, we have to explain that in leagues like the National League or the German DEL, the playoffs are coming up in February and it's difficult to organize a big tournament."
Nevertheless, Europe is making more and more players available to the NHL.
"Absolutely, but the NHL has no interest in developing young players like the clubs in Europe do. In 1976, I was at the Toronto Maple Leafs' training camp and there were only two Europeans. Today, a third of the players in the NHL come from outside North America, and that's only going to increase."
What about the participation of NHL players in the Olympics? Is everything good for next year in Milan?
"We should reach an agreement. I'm waiting to sign the agreement with the NHL. It's the IIHF that decides whether all the conditions are met for the NHL players to participate, because there are millions in insurance money at stake."
The last delicate dossier concerns Russia and Belarus.
"You can't be at the head of a federation and not worry about it. Even if you have to stay out of politics, everything remains political. The exclusion of Russia is mainly about security and protecting our competition. We hope to be able to hold the World Cup again as soon as possible. That would mean that the war is over. We will make the decision for 2027 in February 2026."
