[ad_1]
The International Ice Hockey Federation added its 82nd member on Wednesday after Tunisia admitted to the IIHF biannual congress in St. Petersburg, Russia.
Tunisia is officially the fourth African country to become a member of the IIHF after South Africa, Morocco and Algeria.
Tunisia, led by longtime president Ihab Ayed, will become an associate member of the organization, meaning it will only be able to participate in minor international events and will not be able to vote at IIHF conventions. This is partly because Tunisia does not have a legal IIHF ice rink, so the team competes abroad.
With no full-size rink available for playing in Tunisia, the hockey movement is led by Tunisians abroad, particularly President Ihab Ayed, who played for the French Volants Paris and the Coqs de Courbevoie in the fourth level of French hockey. It was in the Parisian suburbs that Ayed organized on June 14, 2014 the first match of his Tunisian team which ended in a 6-5 victory for Courbevoie.
Tunisia joins a group of 22 associate members, including Colombia, Lebanon, Brazil and Jamaica. Algeria and Morocco both fall under this jurisdiction.
The Tunisian Ice Hockey Association was founded in 2009 and played its first and only game to date for the national team against the French unit Les Coqs de Courbevoie in 2014. Tunisia, playing for the Aigles de Carthage of Tunisia, won their first international tournament, the 2016 African Ice Hockey Cup, after beating the Capitals Rabat of Morocco in the final.
Two years later, the Eagles played in the Arabian Ice Hockey Club Championship in Abu Dhabi, finishing third behind teams from the UAE and Lebanon. Tunisia is now the eighth Arab country in the IIHF.
The IIHF also approved Singapore’s transition to full member status, allowing the team to compete in events such as the World Championship.
[ad_2]
Source link