Chilean Hockey Eyes Olympic Qualificationโค and a Potential World Cup Bid
Andrรฉs de โWitt, President of the Chileanโค Hockey Federation, โhighlighted โthe transformative impact of the Pan American Games legacy and outlined enterprisingโค goals for the futureโ of Chilean hockey, including Olympic qualification and a potential bid to hostโ a World Cup.
De Witt emphasized theโข meaningful infrastructural improvements resulting from hosting theโข Pan American โขGames. “It’s been โclearly said that the Pan American legacy helped us a lot, the infrastructure that we inherited from the Pan โAmerican Games is fabulous. โWe never had it before and that is alreadyโข a base and a starting โpoint to be able to dream of holding events andโ bringing the great teams of the world to our house,” he stated.
Beyond infrastructure, De Witt โstressed the power ofโ sportโ to empower individuals. “There is a vision that sportโค is โคa way to empower generations, sports people, young people who wantโ to improve themselves with โคpassion and this accompanied by life valuesโฆwith ways of being able to project oneself in lifeโข and get ahead. I believe โthat this is โa conspiracy between education, between wanting โto beโค more and also being able to demonstrate โฃto oneself that one is capable of reaching higher levels.”
He also praised the โคstrong institutionalโฃ support โฃwithin the federation, noting a โฃforward-thinking board and aโ highly professional management โteam.โ he underscored the โฃdedication of those involved,โฃ stating, โ”we do โฃthis โ ad honorem, we do it as we are passionate about sport, because we have lived it in โourโ lives and it marked us.”โ However, he alsoโ acknowledged the need for professional governanceโ of resources, expressing satisfaction with the current team โof professionals.
De Witt acknowledged โtheโค progress made under previousโฃ administrations, specifically referencing theโข work of Cachito vigil and Alfredo Castro, whose teams achieved โaโฃ historic first by qualifying for the World Cup. This foundationโ is now driving the current ambition: to send a team to the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games. “We want to take aโข team โฃto the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games. That is a dream,” he said, noting theโข women’s team โis closer to achieving this goal, while the men face a more competitive landscape.
Looking further ahead, the federation is exploring โคthe โฃpossibility of hosting โa Worldโ Cup in 2030. “We have to go step by step,” De Witt cautioned, but โexpressed optimism. He revealed that securing the rights toโ host โฃwould require an investment โof $3-4 million and competitionโ with established hockey nations like India, Australia, Germany, and Holland. He highlighted ongoing discussions with โthe Argentine and Uruguayan federations to potentially present a joint bid.
Currently, the federation is focused on the upcoming tournament starting this Monday, โwhich features โa record 24 teams, including โChile. “It is an honor to be able to close this year of great sporting events in the country.โ And for the first time in the history of these tournaments, 24โ teams comeโฆIt’s 12 days with โsix gamesโข a day, it’sโ going to be veryโ intense and โคit’s a tremendous challenge to organize โฃthis.”
Tickets for โthe tournament are โavailable โthrough Feverup, ranging from $5,000 to $25,000 for individual games and $30,000 to $60,000 for a tournament pass โ(children’s prices at โขthe lower end).
