On Friday, May 28, King Philippe took part in the kickstarting of the field hockey summer season in preparation for the Tokyo Olympic Games, due to start towards the end of July.
His Majesty gave the symbolic “first bat” on the hockey field to start an intensive training session for the Belgian field hockey teams, called the Red Lions (male team) and the Red Panthers (female team), who entered their final stages of preparation for the European Championships (4-12th of June 2021 in The Netherlands). The European Championships serve as qualification events for the Olympic games in many sports, and field hockey is no exception – depending on how the European Championships go, the Belgian teams will be able to access qualifications for competing in the Tokyo Olympic games the following month.
After watching the training for some time, King Philippe moved to the “Center of Excellence”, a new structure built to serve as headquarters for both national field hockey teams, the Red Lions and the Red Panthers. Before entering the structure itself for a short tour, His Majesty met with a delegation of players from both teams and expressed his best wishes and his admiration for their determination in preparing for such an important competition in such difficult circumstances. King Philippe was seen sporting a business suit and tie, as well as a surgical face mask – a grim reminder of the reason why all these sporting events had to be rescheduled.
The Belgian monarchy has long been vocal in their support of Belgian sport, especially during international competitions, with frequent social media posts praising athletes for participating in major events and winning medals. The institution has also been focused on sports as a way of combatting isolation, bullying and marginalisation, and, thought the years, has launched or sponsored numerous initiatives promoting physical activity in all levels of schools all across Belgium.
