Korfball is a ball sport, with similarities to netball and basketball. It is played by two teams of eight players with four female players and four male players in each team. The objective is to throw a ball into a netless basket that is mounted on a 3.5 m high pole.
The International Korfball Federation (IKF) is the governing body of korfball. IKF is responsible for the organisation of korfball's major international tournaments, notably the IKF World Korfball Championship.
European Korfball Championship or European Korfball A-Championship is a korfball competition for European national teams organized by the International Korfball Federation. It was played every four years from 1998 until 2014 and then moved to a tournament every two years, starting from 2016. The number of participated teams has varied between 8 and 16. The Netherlands national korfball team has won each edition.
The Belgium national korfball team, nicknamed the Belgian Diamonds, is managed by the Koninklijke Belgische Korfbalbond (KBKB), representing Belgium in korfball international competitions.
The Russia national korfball team is managed by the Russian Korfball Federation (RKF), representing Russia in korfball international competitions.
The Poland national korfball team is managed by the Polski Związek Korfballu (PZKorf), representing Poland in korfball international competitions.
The International Korfball Federation (IKF) was founded in Antwerp (Belgium) on 11 June 1933 as a continuation of the International Korfball Bureau established in 1924 by the Dutch and Belgian Associations. The IKF was officially recognised by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in 1993 and is affiliated to Sportaccord (Sportaccord), the Association of the IOC Recognized International Sports Federations (ARISF) and the International World Games Association (IWGA).The IKF aims to spread korfball around the globe. It provides close to sixty (60) affiliated member countries with financial, material, and structural support to achieve this goal. It has established a network of contacts in many countries and actively promotes the game by transferring knowledge internationally by exchange programmes and inviting selected korfball players, coaches, and administrators to its training courses to create a stable local structure in all the affiliated countries on which a flourishing korfball organisation can be built. The IKF is organised in five Continental Confederations – IKF Africa, IKF Americas, IKF Asia, IKF Europe and IKF Oceania – since 2011. The IKF General Meeting is the highest authority in the IKF. The IKF is managed on a daily base by the IKF Executive Committee – 8 members – and the IKF Council – 12 members. The IKF stimulates the global awareness that korfball is a spectator and media oriented mixed gender teamsport.
The United States national korfball team is managed by the United States Korfball Federation (USKF), representing the United States in korfball international competitions.
The Armenia national korfball team is managed by the Korfball Federation of Armenia (KFA), representing Armenia in korfball international competitions.
The Luxembourg national korfball team was managed by the Federation Luxembourgeoise du Korfball (FLKB), representing Luxembourg in korfball international competitions. Currently there are no teams in Luxembourg
The Wales National Korfball Team often referred to as the Welsh Korfball Squad (WKS) is managed by the Welsh Korfball Association/Cymdeithas Pêl-Corff Cymru, and represents Wales in international korfball competition. The Welsh Korfball Squad entered its first IKF ranking competition in 2007, after the Great Britain national korfball team was disbanded to produce three teams: England, Wales and Scotland. Wales is a fully recognised member of the International Korfball Federation and is currently ranked 18th in the world.
The Serbia national korfball team is managed by the Korfbol savez Srbije, representing Serbia in korfball international competitions. Is member of IKF since 2005.
The 10th IKF World Korfball Championship were held in the Belgian cities of Ghent, Tielen and Antwerp in 2015. Ghent and Tielen hosted the first and second round matches, whilst the placing matches and finals were all held in the Lotto Arena in Antwerp.
All-Africa Korfball Championship (AAKC) is a korfball competition for African national teams organized by the International Korfball Federation. It has been held every four years since 2006 with the winner qualifying through to the IKF World Korfball Championship in the following year.
The 2014 All-Africa Korfball Championship was held in Zambia from August 6 to August 8, with 4 national teams in competition.
The Zimbabwe national korfball team is managed by the Zimbabwe Korfball Federation (ZKF), representing Zimbabwe in korfball international competitions.
The 11th IKF World Korfball Championship was held in August 2019 in Durban, South Africa and won by the Netherlands. The International Korfball Federation awarded the hosting rights for the tournament to South Africa on 7 November 2015, ahead of the bid by New Zealand.
South African Korfball Federation (SAKF) is the governing body for the sport of Korfball in South Africa. The national body has 10 regional member associations in its organisation structure. It is affiliated with the world governing body International Korfball Federation. SAKF organises men's and women's competitions annually amongst its regional members across age groups. The men's national team have won three All-Africa Korfball Championship and participated at the IKF World Korfball Championship.
The 2018 All-Africa Korfball Championship (AAKC) was held in Chitungwiza, Zimbabwe, from 27 April to 29 April, with 3 national teams in competition.
The Philippines national korfball team is the team which represents the Philippines in international korfball competitions. It is sanctioned and managed by the Philippine Korfball Federation.
