NEWS
German Franz Reindl is new IIHF President
The 71-year-old prevailed in two rounds of voting. He has been involved in German ice hockey for decades.
Franz Reindl is the new President of the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF).
The 71-year-old German is the 15th President of the IIHF overall and the first German since Gunther Sabetzki, who headed the federation between 1975 and 1994. Reindl was already interested in the position in 2021 but was unable to prevail.
A total of nine people had applied for the office, six of whom withdrew their applications before the election. In the first round of voting, none of the three candidates received a majority. Petr Briza (Czech Republic) achieved 41.03 percent of the votes (48 votes), Reindl came in with 36 votes, representing 30.77 percent, while 33 eligible voters chose Aivaz Omorkanov (Kyrgyzstan) (28.21 percent).
With 60 to 57 votes in the second round, Reindl was elected the new President with 51.28 percent.
Decades of Ice Hockey Experience
As an ice hockey player, Reindl was part of Germany's bronze medal team at the 1976 Olympics, later working as a coach in the German league, serving as General Manager of the national team between 1992 and 2014, and also as CEO of the DEL between 1994 and 1996. In 2001, 2010, and 2017, Reindl was responsible for organizing Ice Hockey World Championships in Germany.
From 2014 to 2022, Reindl served as President of the German Ice Hockey Federation (Deutscher Eishockey-Bund), and from 2016, he was a member of the IIHF Council.
Reindl's term as IIHF President will last until October 2030.
