PETR BRIZA

 (CZE) -  SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT

Petr Bříza was born on 9th December 1964 in Prague, Czechoslovakia (now Czechia). He was elected to the IIHF Council in 2016 and became IIHF Senior Vice-President in 2021. Since then, he has also been serving as IIHF Treasurer, Chair of the Development Committee, and Chair of the Clubs and Leagues Committee.
 
He graduated from the Faculty of Physical Education and Sport at Charles University in Prague. During his professional ice hockey career, he played for 23 years across three top European  leagues and represented his country in seven IIHF Ice Hockey World Championships and three Olympic Winter Games. He was later honored with induction into the Czech Hockey Hall of Fame.

After retiring as a goaltender in 2006, Bříza  was immediately appointed General Manager of HC Sparta Prague. He later became Chairman of the Board and from 2016, the club franchise owner. Since the beginning of his post-playing career, he has been highly active in international sports diplomacy, serving as one of the initiators of the European Trophy and the Champions Hockey League (CHL), while also playing a significant role in ice hockey development initiatives.
 
From 2010 to 2018, he also served in municipal politics as an elected member of the Prague City Assembly. In 2008, Bříza became a member of the Executive Committee of the Czech Ice Hockey Association, and since 2012 he has served as its Vice President, a position he continues to hold.
 
He was President of the Organizing Committee in Prague for the record-breaking IIHF Ice Hockey World Championships in 2015 and 2024, and also served as OC President for the record-setting IIHF Women’s World Championship in 2025 in České Budějovice.