Indoor hockey developed in Germany during the 1950s, quickly spreading to other European nations. Belgium was one of the countries to adopt the field hockey variant, and in 1966 René Frank, a native of Belgium, who was later to become President of the FIH (International Hockey Federation), persuaded the German Hockey Associations to give responsibility over the rules of Indoor Hockey to the FIH. This led to the FIH recognising indoor hockey in its constitution in 1968. Whereas in many countries field hockey is played all year long, in Germany, The Netherlands and Austria the hockey season is divided evenly into a field hockey half in summer and an indoor hockey season in winter. The first FIH sanctioned tournament matches of Indoor Hockey were played in 1972.