4. 1. 2021

The European Union supports international floorball project

Great news for the floorball community all over the world. Floorball succeeded in the competition of more than 1,100 applicants from all over Europe in the Erasmus + Sport grant program and received funds for a three-year international cooperation project "Floorball: Fit for Future", which will be coordinated by Czech floorball.

In almost 35 years of its existence, world floorball has undergone a development that is unique in its own way - from a small sport played by a few hundred people in several countries, it has developed into a popular sport with hundreds of thousands of registered players of all ages across the world.

At the moment, however, floorball is facing the question of how to develop further and how to strengthen its popularity. More balanced results, financial stability of national federations, quality management or modern educational methods are all key elements that need to be strengthened between several countries. The traditional Top 4 is not enough. Floorball needs to be less predictable only then will it gain more international recognition and stand out among the more traditional team sports.

Czech floorball is aware of how important it is to have a strong international environment. Therefore, it came up with the idea of a joint European project that would bring together the strongest federations, which have extensive experience in their own development and can offer them to others, and federations in which floorball is on the rise and have similar experience, problems and needs and are in the same stage of development in terms of sports. He gained support for his idea in seven different countries, and in addition to Sweden and Switzerland, Germany, Poland, Slovakia, Denmark and Spain also became partners. The International Floorball Federation (IFF), which will primarily act as a consultant and supervisor, will not be left out either.

"Developing smaller countries is a long-term job, but if we don't start, big changes won't come in ten years. I am glad that the EU believes in floorball and that we will cooperate with each other about ten times more intensively than before. This is the only way we can accelerate the development of floorball, "commented Filip Šuman, Vice President of the International Floorball Federation.