Based on the 2017 statistics the number of licensed floorball players was over 350 000 in the end of 2017. The number of recreational players has also increased to almost 3,5 million players globally as more and more IFF member associations are collecting that information.

Licensed Players

The number of licensed floorball players has increased steadily every year, 3% in average, since 2011. According to the information received from the IFF member associations the exact number by the end of 2017 was 354 640 licensed players, which is 11 % more than in 2016. The dramatic increase in 2017 was due to the number of Global Special Olympics licence players which were counted in for the first time.

Sweden still number one what comes to the number of licensed players

The number of licensed players in Sweden was 123 821 in 2017 compared to the previous year 2016 with 126 443 players. Sweden had a minor decrease of -2% in 2017. Finland on the other hand gained 2 374 new players with the growth of 4% compared to year 2016: 57 400 licensed players.

Most of the associations have maintained the same number of players or have grown slightly. Some of the IFF member associations have been able to grow their player numbers dramatically, like Pakistan who increased their licensed player amount with 245% from 110 to 380 in a year and Cote D’Ivoire with the growth of 167% from 105 to 280 and Iceland with the growth of 90% from 165 to 314 compared to the year 2016.  On average, from the total number of 313 567* licensed players, 22% are female (8% women and 14% under 18) and 78% are male (29% men and 49% under 18) players. (*Percentage has been counted from the associations that have provided this player information.)

There are different systems in different IFF member associations to calculate the number of players. In some countries there are more players, but not all of them are licensed.

10 biggest countries according to the number of licensed players:
1. Sweden
2. Finland
3. Czech Republic
4. Switzerland
5. Germany
6. Norway
7. Slovakia
8. Denmark
9. Russia
10. Latvia

Recreational players

The number of recreational players has also increased when more IFF member associations are collecting and providing the IFF with the figures. In the end of 2017 the number has almost reached 3,5 million with the growth of 6% from the year 2016. Biggest growth was seen in France and Czech Republic.

Floorball is also played as a school sports in several countries and those numbers are now more visible in the statistics. According to the information received by the IFF member associations the number of recreational players in 2017 was 3 459 043 when in 2016 the number was 3 257 906. Floorball is still growing in more countries, but no exact numbers are yet available.

Floorball Clubs

The total number of floorball clubs has also increased in 2017 with 10 % compared to the year 2016. Even though in the top four countries the club number has decreased, but the growth has been over all positive in all other countries. Number of clubs in 2017 was 4728 clubs when in 2016 it was 4296.

The Member Association statistics for 2017 can be found here.

Photos: IFF Flickr