What are the World Floorball Championships?
Floorball's world titles, run by the International Floorball Federation — men since 1996 in even years, women since 1997 in odd ones, both played each December. Sixteen teams contest the final round in four groups of four, with groups A and B drawn from the top eight IFF-ranked nations and C and D from the rest.[1] [2]
| Season | Pool / Format | Host cities |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Women: Switzerland 2–0 Czechia — Sweden 4th | Brno & Ostrava (CZE), 6–14 Dec — record 67,736 attendance |
| 2024 | Men: Finland 5–4 (OT) Sweden, from 0–4 down | Malmö (SWE), 7–15 Dec — Czechia bronze |
| 2023 | Women: Sweden · Finland 2nd · Czechia 3rd | Singapore |
| 2022 | Men: Sweden · Czechia 2nd · Finland 3rd | Zurich (SUI) |
| 2021 | Women: Sweden · Finland 2nd · Switzerland 3rd | Uppsala (SWE) |
| 2026 | — scheduled: men's, Finland defending | Tampere (FIN), 5–13 December |
Recent editions — men's and women's championships alternate.
How do teams qualify?
The host qualifies automatically and — a point worth stating precisely — the defending champion does not. Every other place comes from regional qualifiers held about a year out. For the 2026 men's championship the split was host Finland plus ten from Europe, four from Asia-Oceania and one from the Americas, from 35 registered nations. African members currently play three- and four-a-side formats and have no direct qualification route until they move to the full five-a-side game.[2] [3]
The 2025 upset
Switzerland beat Czechia 2–0 in the women's final at Brno — the country's second title and its first since 2005, ending Sweden's run of nine consecutive championships. Sweden finished fourth, losing the bronze match to Finland: their first medal-less world championship and the end of a 54-match unbeaten run. The tournament drew a record 67,736 spectators, and Czechia's Šárka Staňková became the first Czech named MVP.[4]
What changes from 2029
The IFF announced "The Floorball Evolution" in February 2026, replacing the twenty-year-old competition system on a four-year cycle. Qualification tournaments are abolished, replaced by continental championships for Europe, Asia-Oceania, the Americas and Africa, a Continental Challenge and a new World Trophy for developing nations. The championships move to mid-November, extend to eleven or twelve days, adopt co-hosting, and the men's event expands to 20 teams while the women's stays at 16. Women's 2027 and men's 2028 are the last editions under the current system.[3]
References
- IFF — International Floorball Federation. Accessed August 2026.
- IFF — upcoming events. Accessed August 2026.
- IFF — The Floorball Evolution: a new era of competition from 2029. Accessed August 2026.
- IFF — Switzerland celebrate their second title. Accessed August 2026.