Floorball is a type of floor hockey with five players and a goalkeeper in each team. It is played indoors with 96–115.5 cm-long (37.8–45.5 in) sticks and a 70–72 mm-diameter (2.76–2.83 in) hollow plastic ball with holes. Matches are played in three twenty-minute periods. The sport of bandy also played a role in the game's development.
The 2006 Men's Floorball Championships were the sixth Men's World Floorball Championship. It was held in May 2006 in Sweden, with the host country defeating Finland in sudden victory in the gold medal game. Sweden thus continued its tradition of winning these championships, but for the first time in their history the team failed to win all games. Switzerland became the first team to accomplish a draw versus Sweden in a world championship game, and later won the bronze medal.
Sport is considered a national pastime in Finland and many Finns visit different sporting events regularly. Pesäpallo is the national sport of Finland, although the most popular forms of sport in terms of television viewers and media coverage are ice hockey and Formula One. In spectator attendance, harness racing comes right after ice hockey in popularity.
The International Floorball Federation (IFF) is the worldwide governing body for the sport of floorball. It was founded on 12 April 1986 in Huskvarna, Sweden, by representatives from the national floorball associations of Finland, Sweden and Switzerland. It is recognized by the IOC and is an ordinary member of the ARISF.
Sports play a significant part in the life of many Czechs who are generally loyal supporters of their favourite teams or individuals.
The 2002 Men's World Floorball Championships were the fourth men's Floorball World Championships. It was held from 18–25 May 2002 in Finland. Sweden won the tournament for a fourth time after defeating Finland in the final.
The 1996 Men's Floorball Championships were the first men's Floorball World Championships. It was held in May 1996 in Sweden, and was won by the host nation. The 1996 World Floorball Championships were the first in IFF history.
The Champions Cup is floorball tournament organized by the International Floorball Federation for the best clubs from the top four countries according to IFF World Ranking. Since 2019, those are Sweden, the Czech Republic, Finland and Switzerland, both for men and women. The tournament culminates every year in January both for men's and women's teams, that won in the previous season in their national league and cup competitions. That means, there are eight men's and either women's teams in the tournament in total.
Turun Palloseura (TPS) is a floorball department of the eponymous sports club. The club is based in and named after Finnish town Turku. The club includes also a football and ice hockey team. The floorball department was founded in 1995.
The Men's World Floorball Championship is an international floorball competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the International Floorball Federation (IFF), the sport's global governing body. It is distinct from the Women's World Floorball Championship, which is for women's teams. They were preceded by the European Championships which were held twice in 1994 and 1995. Originally played in May–June, the IFF decided in 2007 to move the tournament to early-December starting in 2008.
The 2009 Men's U-19 World Floorball Championships were the fifth world championships in men's U-19 floorball. The tournament took place over May 6–10, 2009 in Turku, Finland.
Finland Men's National Floorball Team is the national floorball team of Finland. The national team was founded in 1985 and they played their first official game against Sweden in 1985. Finland has won five World Championships and one European Championships (1995). Finland has appeared in every World and European Championships tournament organised by the IFF and is the only team with Sweden to have won such a tournament.
The Czech men's national floorball team, presented as Czechia, is the national floorball team of the Czech Republic, and a member of the International Floorball Federation (IFF). Its biggest successes are silver medals from the 5th World Championships in 2004 and 14th World Championships in 2022, which both took place in Switzerland. The team also won three bronze medals in 2010, 2014 and 2021. That makes Czech team the third most successful team after Sweden and Finland. The Czech Republic has appeared in every World and European Championships tournament organised by the IFF.
The 2014 Men's World Floorball Championships were the 10th World Championships in men's floorball. The tournament took place in Gothenburg, Sweden in December 2014. Home team Sweden defended their title in a close game against Finland. Czech Republic earned the bronze after defeating Switzerland by 4–3.
The 1999 Women's World Floorball Championships was the second world championship in women's floorball. The games were played in Borlänge, Sweden 9–15 May 1999. Finland won the tournament defeating Switzerland, 5–1, in the final-game and it was their first title. This also was the first time that the world championships were divided into two separate divisions, although all games were played at the same dates in Borlänge. Sweden won the bronze medals defeating Norway, 5–1, in the bronze medal game.
The 2003 Women's World Floorball Championships was the fourth world championship in women's floorball. The games were played in Bern, Gümligen and Wünnewil in Switzerland 17–24 May 2003. Sweden won the tournament, their second title defeating Switzerland, 8–1, in the final-game.
The 2022 Men's World Floorball Championships was the 14th World Championships in men's floorball. The tournament was played in Zürich and Winterthur, Switzerland, and took place during 5–13 November 2022.
The 2020 Women's U-19 World Floorball Championships was the 9th world championships in women's under-19 floorball and held on 1 to 5 September 2021 in Uppsala, Sweden. Originally scheduled to take place on 6 to 10 May 2020, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Sweden, it was rescheduled to 2021.
The 2024 Men's World Floorball Championships was the 15th World Championships in men's floorball. It was held from 7 to 15 December 2024 in Malmö, Sweden. The city had already hosted group stage of 2006 Championships.
The 2023 Men's U-19 World Floorball Championships was the 12th edition of the championship. The tournament was played in Frederikshavn, Denmark, and took place from 26 to 30 April. Czech Republic were the two-time defending champions, but were beaten by Switzerland in the semifinals. Sweden won their sixth title after triumphing over the Swiss in the final.
Mika Packalén 
Finland 
France 
