Five clubs from the UK have joined the Alliance of European Hockey Clubs (EHC).
Elite League clubs Braehead Clan, Coventry Blaze, Cardiff Devils, Nottingham Panthers and Sheffield Steelers were confirmed at a meeting in Berlin, Germany on Monday.
In addition, Clan and Panthers owner Neil Black will be on the EHC board for the first year, which runs from 1st July 2016 to 30th June 2017.
Ice hockey becomes the third major European team sport after football’s European Club Association (ECA) and Forum Club Handball (FCH) to found a club alliance, with the mandate to look after the interests of the professional hockey clubs and represent them internationally.