The IFF DYNAMIC “hot orange” match ball, which has now been used at several national and international events, has led to discussions inside the IFF and to some debate also within the broader floorball community. The ball will be further evaluated, and alternative ball colours will also be introduced and tested shortly.
– During the first day of the EuroFloorball Cup 2019 we have now had the possibility to use the ball on the official IFF flooring in a streamed game. Even though the ball was tested before, accepted by players testing it live and also approved by TV partners, the EFC 2019 event shows that the orange ball is not optimal for viewing in streaming where there is poor lighting and low video quality. As the IFF events differ much in regards of streaming set-ups and production, we need a ball that is the best possible also with smaller production set-ups and fewer cameras. But in addition to that, we also need to listen to the views of the players, IFF Secretary General John Liljelund, comments.
The IFF will continue to evaluate and test possible alternative balls in cooperation with the IFF partner UNIHOC.
– We had already planned to test with a white ball during the current EuroFloorball Cup as the UNIHOC DYNAMIC collection includes a white ball as well. The IFF has not had white as the official ball colour in over a decade, except for the Men’s U19 WFC 2011, but this is an alternative that we were planning to test. However, due to the lighting in the EFC Arena, the IFF Jury has after consultation with the players, decided not to test it at the EFC 2019. The players are of the opinion that the white ball is not visible enough on the field of play and want to continue with the “hot orange” ball. We hope that the active floorball community continues to give constructive feedback as our aim is to make the best decision for players, spectators and the TV viewers, Mr. Liljelund concludes.
The EuroFloorball Cup is played October 9th – 13th in Malacky, Slovakia. All matches are streamed on the IFF YouTube Channel.
