The IFF organised a Floorball development seminar in India on the 18th to 20th of September, with over 50 participants from Indonesia, Iran and from all over India taking part.
The three day seminar was modified to the needs of the participants, in order to develop Floorball in these countries. Especially the need to understand the perception of what Floorball is – was especially stressed in the coaching and referee block, since in these countries Floorball is still in the beginning of its development.
The outcome of the seminar will hopefully be a boost of development for Floorball in India and a move towards a more structured way of training and spreading the sport. For both Indonesia and Iran, which are not yet members of IFF, the seminar will hopefully help them on their way to form the federations and start the competitions in their respective countries.
IFF is awaiting the membership applications from these countries before the end of this year. The seminar ended in a demonstration match between the Indian national team and team World, which India won 4-2.
1st Federation Cup in Lucknow
The Indian Floorball Federation (FFI) had organised a 1st Federation Cup in Lucknow on the 17th of September 2009, where six men’s and four women’s teams took part from different state associations. The tournament was organised at the City Montessori School in Gomti Nagar and featured a specialty, which has not been seen before in international Floorball.
The tournament was played on a stone flooring, but inside a regular rink. The FFI had put a lot of effort into the event, including local cheerleaders, a visit from the mayor of Lucknow and a strong press presence.
The women’s tournament was won by Delhi, which beat Uttar Pradesh in the final, with 1-0. The other teams participating came from Punjab and 
Chattisgmad. In the men’s competition the home team from Uttar Pradesh (U.P.), was the clear favorite for the tournament and easily defeated Punjab in the semi final by 4 – 0. The team from Delhi which made it for the semi finals got beaten by the team from Uttarhkhand by 5-0. The teams from Jharkhand and Chattisgmad did not make it for the semi finals.
In the Men’s final there were two teams that had a quite good understanding of how Floorball is being played, but the influence from field hockey could still be seen. Uttarhkhand first took the lead in the first period and then U.P. equalized taking the match to over-time, were Uttarhkhand scored a lucky goal.
The effort put in by IFF according to its aims to help the new countries to develop Floorball was most successful.
