ZURICH — Franz Reindl was elected the new president of the International Ice Hockey Federation on Friday, becoming the first German to hold the position since Dr. Gunther Sabetzki led the organization from 1975 to 1994. Reindl will serve a four-year term through 2030, with Canada left without representation on the newly formed IIHF Council.
Reindl brings deep ties to German hockey. He began his playing career in 1972 and played a key role in Germany winning the bronze medal at the 1976 Olympics. After his playing days he moved into coaching before serving as general manager of the German national team from 1992 to 2014.
Off the ice, he was the founding CEO of the Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL), now a prominent league in Germany, and served as president of the German Ice Hockey Federation from 2014 to 2022. He has also been an IIHF Council member since 2016.
Elsewhere on the council, Canada will have no seat for the 2026-2030 cycle. Katherine Henderson, CEO and president of Hockey Canada, did not receive enough votes to maintain her position.
The full IIHF Council for 2026-2030 is led by President Franz Reindl (GER), Senior Vice President Petr Briza (CZE), and regional vice presidents Mike Trimboli (USA) for the Americas and Oceania, Susie Jo (KOR) for Asia, and Igor Nemecek (SVK) for Europe and Africa. The remaining members are Zsuzsanna Kolbenheyer (HUN), Merve Tunali (TUR), Heikki Hietanen (FIN), Aivaz Omorkanov (KGZ), Viesturs Koziols (LAT), Anders Larsson (SWE), Marta Zawadzka (POL), Sergey Goncharov (BLR), Stoian Batchvarov (BUL) and Andy Mills (NZL).