I.8. FLOORBALL
Origins of the game
Two countries, the United States and Sweden claim to have invented the game floorball. In the 1960s, a game named floor hockey was already played across the USA, and a similar game, called innebandy was also invented in Sweden. The main reason for these was the need for a game for people who want to play ice hockey but cannot ice skate.
The International Floorball Federation (IFF) was founded in 1986 by Dr. András Czitrom and Pekka Mukkola. The president of the organization is Tomas Ericksson. The first European Championship in floorball for men was held in 1994 in Finland, for women in 1995 in Switzerland. The first World Championship for men was held in 1996 in Sweden, for women in 1997 in Finland.
Floorball in Hungary
The Hungarian Floorball Federation was founded in 1997 with the help of Dr. András Czitrom. The game was introduced to the country’s public by György Kassa, who founded the Hungarian „Boardball” Federation in 1989. The Hungarian Floorball Federation became the successor of this organization and that is when the expansion of the sport began. The game played mostly by the young, i.e. students of primary and high schools, became a part of the Student Olympics in 1998.
(Gallovits-Honfi-Kovács, 2011)
About World Championship results and Hungarian teams: