The board of directors from Ice Hockey UK, England Ice Hockey and Scottish Ice Hockey have all unanimously agreed to propose to their respective memberships, the merger of the sport under a single national governing body for England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales.

Under the leadership of the respective chairs – Clifton Wrottesley (IHUK), Duncan Hough (EIH) and John Colley (SIH), alongside Henry Staelens, the first chief executive officer appointed within the sport – IHUK, EIH and SIH have been working to establish a way to work collaboratively, share resources to grow the game and move ice hockey forward in the UK.

Through consultation with UK Sport and home nation sports councils, alongside cross-board collaboration, all parties deemed that merging under one banner would break new ground in the sport for the betterment of the players, clubs, coaches, officials and volunteers who give so much week in, week out.

Henry Staelens, chief executive officer at Ice Hockey UK and England Ice Hockey, commented: “Ice hockey is a sleeping giant in the UK sports market, and has the opportunity to capitalise on new opportunities for growth that a merger would bring.

“Together as one single governing body, the sport can focus on growth of its player base, bring a member-centric approach to the community, deliver new revenue streams to reinvest back into the sport and all under a professional, full-time executive team delivering nationwide.”

Ice Hockey UK, England Ice Hockey and Scottish Ice Hockey will call an extraordinary general meeting for their respective organisations on Wednesday 17 December 2025, where the boards will encourage members to vote in favour of merging the bodies.

Formal notice, voting papers and full details will be issued to voting members of the organisations in due course.

In advance of the vote, England Ice Hockey and Scottish Ice Hockey will host a number of meetings with key stakeholders and groups across the sport, to ensure the merger delivers improvement and certainty in relation to their requirements.

Additionally, a drop-in Q&A session led by Henry Staelens and Grant King (chief operating officer, IHUK & EIH) will be held on 26 November 2025 via Microsoft Teams, which will be open to all registered voting members of EIH and SIH. Details on how to register and attend will be circulated shortly.

Full information and updates on the proposed merger will be shared across England Ice Hockey and Scottish Ice Hockey channels in the coming weeks.

Members are welcome to submit any questions or comments about the merger in advance via info@englandicehockey.com for England and media@scottishicehockey.co.uk for Scotland. England Ice Hockey and Scottish Ice Hockey staff will ensure all queries are addressed during the sessions of in the follow-up materials.

Staelens concluded: “We look forward to continuing constructive discussions with members of EIH and SIH over the coming weeks as we work to build a single, stronger, and more member-focused national governing body for ice hockey in the UK.”

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