The Spaniards strike back!!

The Spanish government and institutions decided to boycott the participation of Catalonia in the Inline Roller Hockey World Cup (London, Canada), by pressuring other national federations to boycott Catalonia.
Finally, Catalonia decided to withdraw from this World Cup in order notto jeopardize their possibilities of being permanently recognised by the FIRS.

MINUTES OF THE COMMITTEE INTERNATIONAL DE ROLLER INLINE HOCKEY ASSEMBLY HELD ON THE 22ND JUNE, 2004 AT THE HILTON HOTEL, LONDON, CANADA.

"The main purpose of the meeting was to consider revisions to the FIRS Statutes, but other business of the International Federation was also considered, including applications from new member Federations. One of these was a petition from Catalonia, a region of Spain, for independent recognition as a FIRS Federation in all disciplines of this sport. The CC was not informed that a similar request had been presented to the European Confederation some months earlier and was rejected. In noting that Catalonia was not an independent nation under the United Nations, the CC was informed that their independent membership was not opposed by the existing Spanish Federation and that Catalonia has its own language and traditions. Noting that there was earlier precedence for such recognitions by FIRS in the cases of Puerto Rico, Macau and Hong Kong, and with no controversy contemplated, the CC voted for Catalonia’s provisional membership, which will be given final approval by the FIRS Congress in November. Provisional members are given the right to enter teams into FIRS World Championships, and naturally, this CIRILH World Championship was the first such to be contested. Almost immediately protests arose, coming first from Spain and originating both from government sources and Spain’s FIRS Federation. Protests also came from European federations, where a boycott of these championships was threatened, if Catalonia was allowed to enter and compete in London, Canada. In the interest of protecting the 2004 World Championships, the Catalonia provisional member was prevailed upon to withdraw their entry of a men and women’s team. However, the controversy over this recognition by the CC continues unabated, with the matter certain to be prominent on the agenda of the next Congress"

THE SPANIARDS GOT WHAT THEY WANTED...