The IFF Central Board held its fourth meeting of the year last weekend in Prague, Czechia. The agenda included discussions on The World Games 2025, a new committee structure, the international calendar, and the updated composition of the Central Board. In light of upcoming events, Czechia was awarded the 2028 Men’s World Floorball Championships, while the 2026 3v3 World Floorball Championships will take place as a standalone three-day event in San Lorenzo de El Escorial, Spain.
New structure of international floorball will open doors for new talent and drive the global growth of the sport
The IFF has taken a major step forward by creating a brand-new committee structure designed to strengthen cooperation, open the door for new expertise, and accelerate the global growth of floorball. More than 160 members from 42 countries have been appointed to serve in these committees – a milestone for the entire floorball family.
We spoke with IFF President Filip Šuman about the background, goals, and future of this initiative.
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Nicolas Van Thielen joins the IFF Central Board
Nicolas Van Thielen was recently appointed to the International IFF Central Board. He is a board member of Floorball Canada and resides in Belgium. In addition to his new role, he will also chair the North America Development Committee.
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Czechia will host the Men’s World Floorball Championships 2028
After hosting the Women’s World Championships this December in Brno and Ostrava, the Czech Republic will once again welcome another major sporting celebration. The final decision about the host city of this prestigious tournament, which was last held in the Czech Republic ten years ago, is still under discussion. The main candidates are Brno and Prague.
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Looking back to Chengdu and The World Games 2025
The World Games 2025 was a remarkable success for Floorball, garnering positive feedback from teams, local organizers, and the IWGA. This achievement is particularly gratifying after nearly three years of planning, with the final months leading up to the event demanding significant effort from the IFF. Ultimately, their hard work paid off, and the event exceeded all expectations.
For the teams, participating in a TWG event offers a unique experience. They reside in an athlete village alongside other floorball teams and various sports. Transportation and meals follow a strict schedule, requiring teams to adapt, unlike IFF events where they have more control over their timetables. On the upside, they enjoyed numerous complimentary services, including chiropractic care, meals and snacks at the venue, ice baths, self-serve laundry facilities, and opportunities to participate in the Opening Ceremony and cultural activities, such as visiting the Pandas. Overall, the teams were very pleased with the arrangements at the village and venue, and their experiences far exceeded their expectations.
In addition to the thrilling competition, Floorball was honored to have ten flag-bearers from eight countries at the TWG Opening Ceremony: Sweden’s Lisa Carlsson and Hampus Nydenfeldt, Singapore’s Michelle Lok and Jie Ying Lim, Finland’s Joona Rantala, Canada’s Nicole Crosthwaite, Switzerland’s Lara Heini, Slovakia’s Jana Troskova, Czech Republic’s Ondrej Nemecek, and Thailand’s Nelly Johansson.
The event also saw the participation of influential political figures, including the presidents of the Swiss and Slovak National Olympic Committees, the Chairman of the Czech National Sport Agency, the Philippine sports minister, and various international federation presidents and IWGA board members.
This year has marked significant progress for Floorball in China. A Men’s National Team training center is set to be established in Yudu, Jiangxi province, complete with a full-scale floorball venue. Plans are also underway to create a similar facility for the Women’s National Team in Hainan in the near future. The China Floorball Union (CFU) eagerly anticipates hosting international floorball events starting in 2026, along with a series of clinics for referees and coaches. It is essential to leverage these connections to inquire about developments in China.
Zuzana Svobodova has been accepted into the IWGA Women’s Leadership programme for autumn 2025, while Veera Kauppi was nominated for the IWGA Athletes Committee for the 2025-2029 term, finishing 15th out of 20 candidates with 265 votes. The top seven candidates were elected, with a total of 905 votes cast from 4,022 eligible athletes, representing a turnout of 22.5%.
The next edition of The World Games will be in Karlsruhe, Germany in 2029.
3v3 WFC 2026 will be played as a 3-day-event
The 3v3 World Floorball Championships 2026 is set to be a stand-alone event hosted by the Spanish Floorball Federation from June 12 to 14, 2026, in San Lorenzo de El Escorial, Spain. The local organizers aim to deliver an exceptional championship experience, complete with various side events.
The tournament will span three days, featuring two full days of group games followed by a day of playoff matches. The proposed match schedules accommodating 24+24 teams, 32+32 teams, and 24+32 teams are in the works. In 2025, registrations for the 3v3 event nearly reached capacity, and it is anticipated that this upcoming championship will attract even more participants, particularly from smaller and newer federations. Therefore, the alternative schedules are designed to allow for more teams in each category.
No major rule changes are planned for 2026, aside from confirming player roster nominations. Teams will be permitted to register either 8 court players and 2 goalkeepers or 9 court players and 1 goalkeeper.
Updates on the Floorball Fit4Future programme
The first phase (evaluation) was launched in 2024 and has been active for a year and a half. It has successfully established a widely accepted development framework within the global floorball community.
The second phase began in spring 2025, involving the 15 federations that signed contracts with the IFF. The Development Action Plans (DAPs) for these countries are mostly finalized, and some federations have already started integrating these plans into their daily operations. However, the level of activity among the countries varies significantly. The evaluation for 2025 is open to all IFF member federations until November 2025. An Experience Library will be created as a resource hub for Phase 2 federations, providing inspiration for solutions within their organizations.
International Calendar
IFF central board discussed preparation of the new competition structure. New 4-years cycle system is discussed already from last year and was presented at the General Assembly 2024. The Calendar Working Group (CWG) is now finalizing key topics including the detail playing formats and systems.
To provide clarity on the new system, including whole structure, the IFF will hold an information meeting for all National Associations in October.
