Johan Cruyff Institute becomes a Learning Partner of the European Hockey Federation to provide sport management education to all of its 42 national associations
The European Hockey Federation trusts in the experience and teaching trajectory of Johan Cruyff Institute to educate future leaders in sport management and to offer its member associations access to specialized training in the world of sport with very advantageous conditions. Last Thursday, at the international headquarters of Johan Cruyff Institute in Barcelona, the two entities signed a collaboration agreement. It sees the academic institution become a member of the EuroHockey Institute Business Club and learning partner of the European Institute for Hockey.
Marcos Hofmann, member of the EHF Executive Board, and Thomas Pedersen-Smith, the EHF’s head of national associations, met with Mariël Koerhuis, general manager of Johan Cruyff Institute, to sign the agreement and start laying the foundations of a collaboration that will last for the next three years.
Marcos Hofmann and Mariël Koerhuis signed the agreement for the next three years.
“It is a very important agreement for us, as it forms part of one of the most important pillars for our European Institute for Hockey,” Hofmann commented. “This is how we help athletes not only to have a dual career, but also to train them in sport management, so that we can also get them to come back and manage our sport.” Marcos Hofmann also pointed out: “We are one of the last amateur sports, so most of our best athletes already have a career as doctors, engineers, lawyers… If we can train them to manage sport, they can come back and manage our sport, which will be a great advantage for us.”
“It is a very important agreement for us, as it forms part of one of the most important pillars for our European Institute for Hockey, this is how we help athletes not only to have a dual career, but to train them in sport management, so that we can get them to come back and manage our sport” – Marcos Hofmann
Thomas Pedersen-Smith can speak from his own experience of the benefits of this agreement, as he is currently studying the Master in Sport Management Online. ““I really value the experience of doing the masters very much. The flexibility in the way the modules are approached is fantastic and it allows you to combine compulsory areas with new elective subjects that I don’t deal with in my day-to-day work, so the learning is very varied,” he said. He believes sports organizations must make a commitment to providing opportunities for their athletes on and off the playing field. “We have to position ourselves not only to take care of our managers; we have to make sure that we take care of our athletes on the field, but also off the field, considering their well-being and their dual career aspirations while they are still playing. It’s really important and Johan Cruyff Institute provides that flexibility for our top athletes,” he says.
“We have to position ourselves not only to take care of our managers; we have to make sure that we take care of our athletes on the field, but also off the field, considering their well-being and their dual career aspirations while they are still playing” – Thomas Pedersen-Smith
Johan Cruyff Institute will give all members of the European Hockey Federation access to the wide range of sport management programs, with discounts on its postgraduate and master’s programs and specialized courses offered in Barcelona, Amsterdam and online. In addition, it will provide access to the network of contacts established at an international level. “We hope that Johan Cruyff Institute, with more than 20 years of experience guiding athletes to develop a dual career, can help design programs that are interesting and also very enriching for athletes and for coaches and staff in the field hockey ecosystem, through quality management based on our experience and our network with other academic institutions,” explained Mariël Koerhuis, general manager of Johan Cruyff Institute.
“We can help design programs that are interesting and very enriching for athletes,coaches and staff in the field hockey ecosystem, through quality management based on our experience and our network with other academic institutions” – Mariël Koerhuis
Throughout our history, many hockey players have passed through our classrooms. Currently, in addition to Thomas Pedersen-Smith, the players Maxime van Oost (Master in Sport Marketing and Sponsorship Online) and Thomas Briels (Master in Sport Management Online) are studying with us, as well as the partnerships manager of the EHF, Jokko de Wit (Master in Sport Marketing and Sponsorship Online).
