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). It is held regularly in even years since 1996. In odd years, the women's championship is played. The tournament takes place in December.
The reigning champions are Finland, who won their fifth title at the 2024 tournament in Sweden. The most successful country is Sweden, with 10 wins, the last in 2022, and participation in every final so far. The other medalists are the Czech Republic with two silvers from 2022 and 2004, Switzerland with one from 1998 and Norway with one bronze from 1996.
The next championship will take place in Finland in 2026.
Format There are 16 teams participating in the tournament. The host country is automatically guaranteed a spot, while the remaining 15 spots are determined through regional qualifiers. These qualifiers, typically comprising several European tournaments and one each for the Americas and Asia-Oceania, are held about a year before the championship.
The teams are then drawn into four groups (A–D), each consisting of four teams. Groups A and B are drawn from the top-ranked teams according to the IFF rankings, while Groups C and D are drawn from the remaining teams. Within a group, teams play against each other. The top two teams from Groups A and B advance directly to the quarter-finals. The other two teams from Groups A and B and the top two teams from Groups C and D compete in a playoff preliminary round.
Next, the playoffs are played by elimination. The eliminated teams, including the teams that did not qualify for the playoffs, participate in additional placement matches, including the bronze medal match.
The entire tournament spans nine days, from one weekend to another. During that time, teams play five to seven matches.
Format history The first World Championship in 1996 was preceded by two editions of the European Championship.
Until the 2008 World Championship, with the exception of the first tournament, teams were divided into divisions (A, B, and later C). In Division A, teams competed in two groups, with the top two teams from each group advancing to the semi-finals. The winners of the semi-finals played in the final, while the losing teams contested the bronze medal match. The bottom teams of both groups played for relegation from Division A, while the winner of Division B was promoted. Qualification was introduced for the 2010 World Championship, but only from 2014 onwards did all teams (except the host nation) have to qualify. Previously, the top teams from the previous championship received automatic qualification. The current system, where the higher-ranked teams are placed into two groups and the remaining teams into two separate groups, was introduced at the 2014 World Championship. After 2028, the qualification tournaments will be replaced by continental championships, from which 20 teams will newly qualify.
Until the 2006 World Championship, the tournament was held in May. After 2028, the interval between championships will be extended to four years, alternating with continental championships, and the tournament will be held in November.
The quarter-finals were first played in 2002, but became a permanent part of the format only from 2010 onwards. In 2014, the playoff preliminary round (round of 16) was introduced.
Tournaments
YearFinal venueWinnersScoreRunners-upThird placeScoreFourth place1996 Details Stockholm5–06–21998 Details Prague10–34–12000 Details Oslo5–34–22002 Details Helsinki6–44–3 OT2004 Details Zurich6–48–7 PSO2006 Details Stockholm7–6 OT9–42008 Details Prague7–6 OT5–4 OT2010 Details Helsinki6–29–32012 Details Zurich11–58–02014 Details Gothenburg3–24–32016 Details Riga4–3 PSO8–52018 Details Prague6–3 4–22020 Details Helsinki6–44–3 OT2022 Details Zurich9–35–32024 Details Malmö5–4 OT8–22026 Details Tampere2028 Details Prague
Medal table
RankCountryGoldSilverBronzeMedals1105015257315302464017850011Total15151545
Participation details
Team1996199820002002200420062008201020122014201620182020202220242026Years 61Q9Q16Q15Q11Q16Q1423Q5Q15Q16Q479Q8Q8Q21Q16Q16Q64 Debuts 12 0 0 0 1 1 0 4 2 1 1 0 1 0 1 0 Cumulative 12 12 12 12 13 14 14 18 20 21 22 22 23 23 24 24
Gallery
See also Women's World Floorball Championship Under-19 World Floorball Championships List of floorball world champions
References
External links Men's World Championships at IFF website