The International Hockey Federation’s (FIH) strategic alliance with global sports marketing agency Sportfive marks one of the most consequential commercial decisions in modern hockey.
For a sport with a massive worldwide following but chronically low monetization, this partnership represents more than a commercial collaboration it is an inflection point. The goal is ambitious yet essential: transform field hockey from an under-leveraged Olympic sport into a commercially competitive global property with diversified revenue streams and premium partners.
For years, world hockey has struggled to convert its large fan base estimated at nearly two billion into meaningful media and sponsorship income. The financial reality is stark. In 2023, the FIH generated only $7.8 million in media revenue, a striking contrast to comparable Olympic team sports such as volleyball ($68 million) or table tennis ($11.8 million in 2022) . Despite its scale and global footprint, hockey remains one of the most under-commercialized sports on the international calendar.
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It is against this backdrop that the FIH’s partnership with Sportfive must be understood. Rather than continuing an austerity-driven model one that recently relied on aggressive cost cutting and even government unemployment aid to stay solvent the federation is now seeking a structural shift toward revenue expansion and long-term sustainability. The need for this reset is underscored by FIH’s own financial trajectory. Its first profit since 2017 came only after slashing operational expenses from CHF 13.3 million in 2018 to under CHF 7.5 million in 2021, while relying on nearly CHF 1.8 million in government support across 2020–21.
Sportfive enters at a moment when hockey’s commercial model is overdue for reinvention. With a network spanning 60 offices, 600+ specialists and access to more than 450,000 global brand decision-makers, the agency brings the scale and expertise the FIH has long lacked.
Its track record in securing multinational sponsorship for major global properties such as brokering the Los Angeles Lakers’ first international partnership with the Korean brand Bibigo, or aligning Chelsea FC with Trivago demonstrates its ability to attract non-endemic, high-value partners to sports assets with untapped commercial potential .
Crucially, Sportfive’s experience with the International Handball Federation (IHF) provides a template for field hockey. Handball, another Olympic team sport with a strong European base, benefited from Sportfive’s expertise to secure long-term media agreements in Germany, combining free-to-air visibility with pay-TV monetization. This dual strategy is precisely what field hockey requires to reassert itself in competitive markets, particularly Europe, the Middle East, and South Asia regions specifically targeted in the new partnership.
The collaboration will debut with hockey’s premier event, the 2026 World Cup in Belgium and the Netherlands. Both nations offer stable economies, strong hockey cultures, and guaranteed high attendance, making the World Cup an optimal asset for attracting premium global sponsors. Sportfive’s mandate is to secure a high-value title sponsor for 2026 and anchor commercial partners that can reposition hockey within the global sports sponsorship landscape.
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Yet the partnership’s long-term success depends on more than global sales efforts. Central to its effectiveness will be FIH’s ability to reform its own product structure especially the Pro League. The league’s home-and-away model has long clashed with European club calendars, reduced athlete availability, and lacked a high-stakes playoff event that top-tier sponsors typically seek. Without structural changes, the product risks remaining difficult to market. Sportfive can pitch hockey aggressively, but the FIH must deliver a more commercially coherent asset.
Governance discipline is equally important. Episodes such as Pakistan’s withdrawal settlement from the Pro League where contractual penalties were softened undermine sponsor confidence and must be addressed through stricter enforcement .
A significant commercial advantage now lies in hockey’s evolving digital ecosystem. With Endeavor Streaming powering Watch.Hockey through the Vesper Platform, the FIH can finally generate granular, verifiable viewership data something global brands increasingly demand. Sportfive’s sales pitch no longer needs to rely on broad estimates of a “two-billion fanbase”; instead, it can present measurable consumption patterns tailored to specific regions and demographics. Combined with the growth-friendly Hockey5s format, this digital shift could unlock youth-centric sponsorship opportunities previously out of reach.
The roadmap ahead is clear. The FIH must restructure the Pro League into a centralized, premium event ideally a Final Four enforce governance rigor, and align closely with the new digital infrastructure that underpins Sportfive’s sales strategy. If executed decisively, the partnership could generate a 50% commercial uplift by the end of the 2026 cycle and begin closing hockey’s long-standing revenue gap.
In essence, the FIH–Sportfive collaboration is a decisive attempt to rewrite hockey’s commercial identity. It is not a quick fix, but a foundational change one that hinges on both external expertise and internal reform.
The next four years will determine whether hockey finally breaks free from its financial limitations and claims its rightful place among the world’s commercially thriving Olympic sports.
