Practical Training at the Finnish Ice Hockey Association by Joonas Rautiainen

I have always been really keen into ice hockey, and it has been a big part throughout my life. Hence when I saw that the Finnish Ice Hockey Association (FIHA) was looking for an intern, I did not hesitate at all to apply for the position. Luckily enough I was able to get the position after a couple of interviews and started my practical training in September 2021. Although I had to move from Jyväskylä to Helsinki for this internship, I was more than excited to start in this position and saw it as a huge opportunity for me to develop my skills further within the field of sport business.

Right from the beginning of my internship at FIHA, I had the feeling that the staff there was very welcoming, and it was easy for me to adapt to a new environment and into my sales and marketing team. From the very first day onwards, I felt like being part of the team and had a chance to participate in the everyday tasks with them. From the beginning of September, we had many meetings with FIHA’s partners, and I was able to connect with many of the colleagues there as well.

When the internship went onwards, we narrowed our focus mainly to the upcoming Karjala Cup in November 2021. My biggest tasks in that were mostly related to ticketing and marketing the event. With this, I really had the chance to see what kind of work and effort is needed to organize such an international tournament. We had some challenges in organizing the tournament of course because of the COVID-19 situation but after all we were quite happy with the end result of it especially with the sold-out arena on the last game of the tournament.

During the practical training, I was also fortunate enough to join the team organizing the 2022 Ice Hockey World Championship. With this my tasks were mainly related to ticketing as well and it has been an honor to work with such a large international tournament. After my internship at the Finnish Ice Hockey Association, I had the privilege to continue my work at FIHA as a marketing assistant and as a ticketing assistant at the 2022 Ice Hockey World Championship.

Author: Joonas Rautiainen