Team Poland Set to Miss Olympic Qualifiers
In an all-too-familiar story, lack of money extinguishes a dream for a very deserving national team.
After a dramatic triumph on home ice that sent them to the final round of Olympic qualifiers, Team Poland is now coping with a harsh reality: their federation does not have the money to send them to the tournament they worked so hard to get to.
"The Polish Ice Hockey Association cannot afford to cover the costs of the Polish hockey players' trip to Japan," the association said in a statement on December 27th.
The team was due to travel to Tomakomai, Japan in February for the Group G qualifiers against China, France, and hosts Japan. The winner will earn a berth at the 2026 Olympics in Italy, and a victory for Poland would have ensured the team's first-ever Olympic appearance.
It might seem difficult to understand how a national federation with a wide host of sponsors can't fulfill one of their most basic duties. Without knowing their complete financial ins and outs it's impossible to make a broader judgment call regarding competency and priority. According to Szymon Michalski's piece on SportoweFakty, the association is currently 15 million PLN (approximately $3,619,293.14 USD) in debt.
However, the lack of funding for the women's trip to Japan is directly related to Polish president Andrzej Duda refusing to sign an amendment to the Sports Act, which would have funded the Polish Ice Hockey Association among other things.
What other things, you ask? According to the Ministry of Sports and Tourism, the amendment would "ensure more balanced gender representation in the boards of Polish sports associations, guarantee the participation of athletes' representatives in the composition of boards and strengthen the protection of pregnant and post-natal female athletes."
At the time of publication the IIHF has not commented on Team Poland's situation.
Special thanks to Tim Sinzenich of Frauen Eishockey for the links and bringing this story to our attention!
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