About Floorball

Floorball is a type of floor hockey developed in the 1970s in Sweden, and is most popular in Nordic countries. It can be considered an indoor non-ice version of Ice Hockey, played on the feet, not skates. It is also known as Uni-Hockey, Salibandy, or Innebandy.

floorball game

Floorball is an indoor sport played by both men and women. It is played by a team consisting of five field players and a goalkeeper. The matches of this sport are played in three periods, with twenty minutes per period. The filed is like an ice hockey rink, the goals are inset, and the players may play behind the goals, and bounce the ball off the walls surrounding the field.

Players hold an 80-100cm long hockey-like stick to hit a lightweight plastic ball with holes (similar to a whiffleball). Players are also allowed to wear shin guards, protective padding and eye protectors during the game to avoid injury.

It is a non-contact sport. No stick checking, lifting, locking, or slashing is allowed. There is no body contact except for incidental shoulder contact. Only the goalie can use their hands to catch or handle the ball. Foot passes to another player are allowed, but players may not do so twice in a row. The ball cannot be played above the waist.

Floorball is organized internationally by the International Floorball Federation (IFF). There are men and women's World Floorball Championships held every two years. Another major competition is the Euro Floorball Cup for club teams.

Floorball at the World Games

Floorball is also one of the major sports featured at the Olympics and the World Games. At the World Games, the teams are smaller than normal (14 players) and the matches are more action-packed, with three periods shortened to 15 minutes each.

Floorball was first featured as an invitational sport at the 1997 Lahti World Games. The sport didn't make it to the World Games again until the 2017 Wroclaw World Games, where it was featured as a major sport.

Subsequently, it was featured as one of the major events at the 2022 Birmingham World Games and the 2025 Chengdu World Games. Here are the medalists who won gold in the men and women categories after this event at the 2025 Chengdu World Games: