Balbirnie is an honorary life member of Hockey Ireland, which has enjoyed a resurgence in the past few years, culminating in a historic first appearance at the Olympics in August since London 1908.

He has been actively involved with international hockey for more than 40 years, holding roles as manager of the Irish senior outdoor and indoor and the under-21 teams.

Balbirnie was the honorary secretary of Hockey Ireland from 1987 to 1993, while he has been on the Executive Board of the European Hockey Federation (EHF) for a number of years.

He also had a spell serving as secretary general for the EHF, during which he was involved in the move to the new administrative headquarters in Brussels, the launch of the Euro Hockey League and the integration of the former Soviet Union Republics into the European hockey competitive structure.

Formerly a FIH Executive Board member and now part of the FIH Risk and Compliance Committee, Balbirnie prides himself on his ability to communicate with a range of stakeholders and his knowledge of the workings of both the EHF and FIH.

"I have a proven track record as a collaborative decision maker and the best way to provide an example of this is with the successful integration of all regions in Ireland to ensure our entry to participate in the Rio Olympics," he said.

"As a current member of the FIH Risk and Compliance Committee, I play an important role in the management of FIH finances with significant oversight in this role.

"As secretary general of EHF, I ensured the building of a strong balance sheet and sustainable financial plan."

Balbirnie is considered to have been at the heart of Ireland’s move up the outdoor world rankings, with their men's team currently sitting in 10th place and their women's in 16th spot. 

Despite suffering four defeats in their five games at Rio 2016 and failing to make it out of Group B, Ireland's men's team's appearance alone at the Olympics was seen as a major achievement.

"David has a strong and proven track record as Irish Hockey’s secretary general towards the development and integration of all regions of hockey in Ireland enabling us to enter and ultimately participate at the Olympic Games in Rio," said Hockey Ireland chief executive Rob Johnson.

Brian Caruth, chair of Hockey Ireland, added: "David has been an outstanding ambassador for hockey in Ireland and throughout the world in his capacity as FIH Executive Board member and honourable general secretary of the European Hockey Federation.

"David's personality will ensure, if elected, that he will connect with all Member Associations within the hockey family enabling them to work together in harmony for the betterment of our sport, always looking to the future without forgetting the past.

"Hockey Ireland believes that David has the energy, passion and experience to lead the FIH."

Balbirnie is up against Australia’s Ken Read and India’s Narinder Batra in the race to replace the outgoing Leandro Negre, with the Spaniard’s term in office coming to an end after eight years in the role.

Negre could have chosen to run for a third term, but has surprisingly opted against standing, having claimed in January that he would stand and expected to be re-elected unopposed.

Each of the three candidates to replace him were officially nominated by their National Associations and will learn whether they have been successful at the Hockey Revolution Part II Congress in Dubai on Saturday (November 12).

Australia’s Read is currently the chair of the FIH’s Competitions Committee and is the President of Hockey Tasmania, while he has previously served as a Board member of Hockey Australia.

Batra serves as the President of Hockey India, having been unanimously elected into the post in 2014.

He is also the vice-president of the Asian Hockey Federation, the associate vice-president of the Indian Olympic Association and the chairman of the Hockey India League, as well as being an existing FIH Board member.