In the last week of April, it was reported that the Swedish NHL forward Elias Pettersson won’t make it to the World Hockey Championships, because his insurance was too expensive (you switch to another service) For the Swedish Ice Hockey Federation.
Pettersson, who scored 102 power points in the Vancouver Canucks this season, was interested in joining the strength of Tre Kronor, but the Swedish star’s insurance premiums during the games would have increased to around 176,000-264,000 euros, which was too much for the Swedish federation.
In Leijon, no player’s World Cup allowance has been used in insurance payments so far.
CFO of the Finnish Hockey Association Jaakko Luumin according to the amount used for the insurance of the Lions’ players varies a lot every year. The number is six figures every year, but “clearly less than half a million”.
– The amount is higher if there are many NHL players and big stars. Then if there is a European-oriented team, it is a bit smaller. In any case, we are talking about a significant annual sum.
The International Ice Hockey Federation and the NHL negotiate insurance matters with each other. The international federation compensates 20,000 Swiss francs, or about 20,300 euros per player. If the insurance is more expensive than this, the excess goes out of the national sports federation’s pocket.
One NHL player’s insurance can cost the Ice Hockey Association several tens of thousands of euros.
– Sometimes it can be significantly less. It’s really case-specific, and it doesn’t always work out logically. If we have the biggest superstar, the insurance may not be significantly more expensive than an average NHL player.
The size of the insurance is most influenced by the duration and size of the player’s NHL contract. For example, the player’s age and injury history can also have an effect.
This year, at least one defenseman will join the NHL Olli Määttä and attackers Kasperi Kapanen, Joel Armia and played on the Vegas farm team Sakari Manninen. Patrik Laine participation in the World Cup is still uncertain, because the Finnish cannon is not in full playing condition.
The Swedish Ice Hockey Federation and the SM league have agreed that the insurance of the national team players playing in their home country is included in the league’s insurance. For players playing in Europe, the Ice Hockey Federation negotiates a joint insurance policy, which may vary slightly depending on the player’s contract.
Luumi feels that the financial investment in NHL players is worthwhile.
– I pretty much start from the fact that it is a matter of honor for the players to put on the Leijonpaita. Then it is a matter of honor for the Ice Hockey Federation to enable the safe arrival of the players to the national team. The players come there voluntarily and want to represent Finland.
“Can’t close”
Director of coaching and former head coach of the Finnish Basketball Association Henrik Dettmann says that the Basketball Association does not have to pay insurance premiums like the Ice Hockey Association.
– In this matter, the International Basketball Federation has handled the matter well. Fiba and the NBA have an agreement that has, at least until now, covered the players’ insurance. Ultimately, it is also in the interest of the NBA that their players play in the world and in prestigious competitions.
The NBA is trying to attract more and more foreign players to the league.
– With an open policy, you cannot close in on yourself. Then you have to be ready to take some risks. The old truth is that when money increases, problems increase. When salaries rise in the NHL, clubs owned by individuals calculate the risks to be big, says Dettmann.
In recent years, insurance issues also caused problems in basketball. For example, Germany had to pay Dirk Nowitzki for playing in the 2002 World Cup $200,000.
– This was a big challenge in international basketball for a long time. It has been in good care for more than ten years.
Dettmann does not want to speculate Lauri Markkanen insurance sums or whether the Finnish Basketball Association would even have the ability to pay Markkanen’s insurance premiums.
– These are not small amounts. But it’s not even those boys’ salaries.
– But I could say that I think the Swedish Hockey Association could afford to pay insurance premiums if it had enough desire. In my opinion, the Finnish Ice Hockey Federation works in an exemplary manner. If the player is ready to play, it is the task of the association to ensure that.
Fifa compensates millions
The international sports federation handles insurance for national team players in football as well.
General Secretary of the Football Association Marco Casagrande says that in the time windows of international games, the Fifa Club Protection Program is in use, which compensates clubs for damages that occur in international matches, a maximum of 7.5 million euros per player, if the injury lasts more than a month. According to Fifa, the total ceiling of the program is 80 million per year.
There are currently five international windows per season (March, June, September, October and November). During them, the European Championship and World Cup qualifiers and the Nations League are played. Fifa’s compensation program also covers the final tournaments of prestigious competitions.
– The starting point is that the clubs insure the players, and these same insurances are valid in national matches. On top of that comes this Fifa Club Protection Programme, which strengthens that security for clubs. It’s not 100%, but it’s good enough that there is an understanding between the clubs, Fifa and the federations.
The program includes all footballers who get paid for playing in the leagues under Fifa. According to Casagrande, this also covers women.
In the Finnish national football team, there has not been a situation where a player was not included in the national team in an official match because of the insurance fee.
– The fact that certain international practice matches are played in January could cause concrete challenges for us. This insurance is not valid for them. There have been a few times when I have had to think about whether the clubs will let the players go or not.
Remember the species model?
Jaakko Luumi hopes that hockey would go in the direction of other ball sports when it comes to insurance.
– However, the Ice Hockey World Cup is a competition organized by the International Ice Hockey Federation. Surely everyone hopes that the best players will be available at the games.
Taking care of players’ insurance requires a lot of money from the international sports federations.
– If you compare sports in terms of costs, the budget of international sports federations can be at a slightly different level for football and basketball, Luumi reminds.
International Ice Hockey Federation declared your net income (you switch to another service) in the period 2021–2022, a good 75 million euros. In comparison, Fifa’s 2022 net income was a statistical service according to statistics (you will switch to another service) around 2.2 billion euros.