On 25 March, INTERACT+ project partners convened for a hybrid meeting to review progress, exchange insights, and plan the next steps in the project. IFA Secretary General Christoph Oberlehner participated on behalf of IFA in these meetings.
The meeting opened with an update from Federico Palumbo (University of Limerick) on the Theory of Action Pilot Evaluation Report, set for completion in June 2025. This report, based on experiences using the Sport for All Certification Dashboard and Sport for All capacity building trainings, gathers feedback through interviews, surveys, and workshops.
Mayssa Bsaibes (International Table Tennis Federation Foundation) and Jörg Benner (European Flying Disc Federation) provided updates on capacity-building efforts within the project, highlighting ongoing and upcoming training initiatives. INTERACT+ has successfully met its goal, delivering seven Sport for All capacity-building training sessions to 164 participants from 89 international sport organizations and national federations across 55 countries. With these trainings now complete, the next objective is to develop an Impact Evaluation Report and refine the training toolkit based on lessons learned.
Fernando Parente (International University Sports Federation – FISU) shared updates and gathered feedback on the Sport for All Certification platform. Partners also explored strategies for sustaining the project beyond 2025.
As INTERACT+ moves forward, the collective efforts of its partners continue to drive meaningful change, reinforcing sport as a powerful tool for inclusion, empowerment, and social impact.
The IFA is pleased to announce the release of the approved fistballs from April 1, 2025. With a choice of five ball manufacturers – Sportastic, Ludwig, Drohnn, Errea and HAWE – we can offer our athletes a wide range of high quality balls.
Compared to the previous year, there were minor changes at Sportastic and Ludwig. Sportastic launches its own ball design for the World Games. The new ball will be available in the online store later this week.
There has also been a design change at manufacturer Ludwig.
We would like to express our thanks to Sportastic, Ludwig, Drohnn, Errea and HAWE for their continuous work and commitment to our sport!
List of approved Fistballs valid from 1 April 2025: DOWNLOAD
The International Fistball Association (IFA) will adjust the division of work in the General Secretariat as of April 1, 2025. The reason for this change is the reduction in working hours requested by Christoph Oberlehner, as he will take on the full-time position of Sports Officer for the Sports Minister of the State of Upper Austria. However, Oberlehner will continue to serve voluntarily in his role as IFA Secretary General, to which he was elected in 2023.
“My decision to reduce my working hours is in no way connected to the upcoming change of president at the IFA,” emphasizes Oberlehner. “The new position with the state of Upper Austria is a special opportunity for me personally, which I would like to seize. At the same time, I will remain closely connected to the IFA and Fistball and will be very committed to our sport.”
“Since 2018, Christoph has decisively shaped our organization with tireless commitment and passion and achieved many milestones. Although Christoph will be embarking on a new career path from April 1, we are delighted that he will remain with us as Honorary Secretary General. We are convinced that his knowledge and experience will continue to be invaluable to IFA. Thank you, Christoph, for your extraordinary commitment to IFA,” says IFA President Jörn Verleger.
Sönke Spille will take on additional responsibilities as the new Head of Office in the IFA General Secretariat. In addition to his current tasks, he will assume the management of the office, while certain duties from the event sector will be transferred to the IFA Communications Commission.
Furthermore, the responsibilities of Gastao Englert will be enlarged. Englert is leading the IOC recognition process for the IFA, which is set to open by June 2025 at the latest. Certain preparatory steps must already be taken to be well-prepared for the recognition procedure. Designated IFA President Gastao Englert will play a key role in updating and preparing the necessary documents.
President Jörn Verleger and Vice President Roger Willen will ensure IFA’s presence at international congresses and the cultivation of international relations. Willen has already participated in several events in the past and has been able to establish a strong network.
With these adjustments, the IFA ensures that all relevant tasks are efficiently distributed and that the organizational challenges of the coming months will be successfully managed.
In light of tomorrow’s International Women’s Day, we celebrate again Female Fistball Future project of Faustball Austria, the global winner of the IFA 2024 ACTIVITY AWARD!
Five specific sub-groups have been created under the Female Fistball Future slogan, focusing on different aspects:
young female players,
female coaches,
female referees,
female officials
and top female athletes.
Each subgroup is supervised by an experienced mentor who provides insights into her work throughout the year and acts as a role model.
The role model’s dedication to advancing gender equality, diversity, and inclusion in sport is truly inspiring. The work makes a significant impact, breaking down barriers and creating opportunities for all.
From resilient athletes/referees/coaches to visionary leaders, they are driving change and leading the way for a more inclusive sports community.
TAFISA Positive and Safe Coaching Pathway Project
Furthermore, IFA wants to promote the TAFISA project “Positive and Safe Coaching Pathway Project” on this year´s #InternationalWomensDay, which we are part of since 2024.
This project and the coaching it provides aims to address the gender inequality that hinders the participation of women and girls in sport at all levels. By focusing on coaching female and male coaches, the pathway aims to remove barriers and create a more equitable, accessible, responsive and positive experience for girls in sport.
The head of the IFA Youth Commission, Emma Dallinger, and project assistant Hanna Einsiedler completed the program.
Share your experience with #IWD25 #WomensDay #InternationalWomensDay
‘Silence is not an option!’ – ’The protection of athletes is the highest good.’
On the weekend of the German Fistball Championship in Mannheim, reports of an abuse case shocked fistball in Germany.
IFA President Jörn Verleger gave an interview to the SWR a few days ago, which is reproduced in excerpts in the report. Here is the full statement.
‘Since 2016, the World Fistball Association has adopted a comprehensive policy and procedure to protect all individuals in the fistball family. This so-called ‘Safeguarding Policy’ was last updated in December 2020 and recommendations were added to IFA member associations to adopt their own guidelines and procedures to protect athletes from discrimination, harassment and abuse.
IFA ‘Integrity Officer’ for all international events is currently former IFA Vice President Vikky Buston from New Zealand, who also helped develop the first guideline.
For us as a world federation, every report must be taken seriously, the person concerned must be trusted and appropriate investigations must be carried out. We also expect this when an incident occurs in a member federation.
To raise awareness of the dangers and tasks, the IFA offered a workshop on the topic of Safe Sport as part of World Fistball Day in 2022, for example. In addition, we as IFA regularly participate in workshops and measures of the IOC and our umbrella organisation AIMS and GAISF (including Toolkit 2017, 2021 GAISF-IOC Workshop, 2023 GAISF-IGNITX Athletes’ Safeguarding Workshop). Furthermore, we have currently asked the fistball family to take part in a survey ( https://forms.office.com/pages/responsepage. aspx?id=n2ekHAn8sU-Ouajx5l-fHIfQ9HywOwJKjgB75KHpBupUM0NENFdYVlZRUFA3V0tRNktNWURHRkM1Mi4u&route=shorturl ) to prepare further training measures.’
‘We are committed to a culture of looking and acting. Seeking help is a sign of strength. Anyone who is affected or has knowledge of incidents: You are not alone – we listen, support and act confidentially. Every report is taken seriously. Those affected decide how to proceed at all times,’ has been on the Faustball Deutschland homepage since yesterday. This is to be expressly welcomed.
‘There were others who suspected it and looked the other way,’ this statement from Laura moves us very much. No one should be left alone with this topic.
IFA invites all members to ITA’s upcoming webinar, dedicated to the topic of Anti-Doping Rule Violations (ADRVs). This session, part of ITA’s monthly education series, will take place on Tuesday, 25 February, from 14:00 to 15:00 CET and will feature Ayesha Talpade, ITA Senior Legal Counsel.
The webinar will provide an in-depth look at the different types of Anti-Doping Rule Violations, their implications, and real-world applications. It will be an excellent opportunity for participants to engage directly with an expert and gain valuable insights into the latest legal and procedural aspects of anti-doping.
To ensure the session is as informative as possible, participants are encouraged to submit their questions in advance via the registration link below. ITA will address as many questions as possible during the live session, with additional time reserved for real-time Q&A.
This webinar will be conducted in English, with simultaneous interpretation available in Arabic (العربية), Spanish (español), French (français), and Russian (русский).
Webinar Details
Date: Tuesday, 25 February
Time: 14:00 – 15:00 CET
Expert Speaker: Ayesha Talpade, ITA Senior Legal Counsel
Moderator: Mairi Irvine, ITA Education Team
Registration link: Click to Register
We encourage all members to take advantage of this valuable learning opportunity and engage in the discussion on anti-doping best practices.
For more information, visit ITA’s website. We look forward to your participation!
The Alliance of Independent Recognised Members of Sport (AIMS), in which the International Fistball Association is member, introduced its Good Governance Project during the 2024 General Assembly at the Olympic House. Led by Dr. Julie Gabriel, AIMS Council Member and President of FISav, in cooperation with the CSCF Sport Integrity Group, this initiative is designed to enhance governance standards, transparency, and ethical practices across AIMS’ member federations. The project reflects AIMS’ commitment to fostering integrity and accountability within international sports.
CSCF works to protect sport from negative aspects including manipulations in sport, safeguarding issues, discrimination, and racism worldwide.
Online Survey is being conducted
As part of this project to protect the sports integrity of all federations within the Alliance of Independent Recognized Members of Sport (AIMS), an online survey is being conducted to gather information and assess the current state of sports integrity within the concerned federations.
The survey is very simple, and we ask you to fill it in as honestly as possible. It is anonymous, so we will not know who filled in the survey, but your answers will be very helpful to us.
Change at the top of the International Fistball Association (IFA): Gastão Englert from Brazil will take over the role as the new President of the Fistball World Federation in the course of 2025. This was decided by the IFA Board of Directors at its most recent meeting. Englert will take over from current President Jörn Verleger, who announced at the meeting that he would be stepping down at the end of August. Until he takes office as President, the 59-year-old will act as the new Vice President. Roger Willen was also appointed as the new Vice President at the meeting.
The International Fistball Association is set for changes this summer. Jörn Verleger announced his departure as IFA President on August 30, 2025 after the World Games in Chengdu (China) during the Board of Directors meeting on February 8. At this meeting, the Board of Directors agreed on how to proceed in the coming months – and set the course for the future. The Board of Directors appointed Gastão Englert (Brazil), Chairman of the Sports Commission, and Roger Willen (Switzerland), previously a member of the Board of Directors, as new Vice Presidents. Together with Giana Hexsel (Brazil), who was elected at the 2023 Congress in Mannheim (Germany), there are now three IFA Vice Presidents.
With his appointment on Saturday, Gastão Englert will act as First Vice President to President Jörn Verleger with immediate effect. This also makes him the designated IFA President from the end of August and the first Brazilian President in the history of the International Fistball Association. His role as Chairman of the Sports Commission will remain unaffected by his appointment as Vice President, as will Roger Willen’s role as IFA Development Director.
“For 10 years at the helm of the IFA, I have been able to play a key role in shaping the fortunes of the association and look back on many outstanding developments and events during this time. The World Games 2025 in Chengdu in mid-August are an ideal time to hand over the reins of the association after this labor-intensive period. I would like to thank all my colleagues who have supported me in my efforts to raise the profile and popularity of fistball and will remain involved in the topics of sustainability, para-fistball and anti-doping and as chairman of a fistball support association for the sport and the IFA Board of Directors beyond August,” said Jörn Verleger.
Jörn Verleger – Farewell as IFA President
Jörn Verleger has been President of the International Fistball Association (IFA) since August 2019 and is the first German to hold this position. Previously, he was Secretary General of the IFA from 2015 to 2019 and headed the Future Development Working Group. From April 2022 to the end of 2023, he was also President of the German Fistball League (DFBL) and Chairman of the Board of Faustball Deutschland. Due to a change of statues in 2023 with a maximum term of eight years being adopted, Verleger had to step down in 2027 anyway.
Verleger is committed to international networking and recognition of the sport. He played a key role in organizing major events, including the IFA 2018 Women’s World Championship in Linz and the IFA 2023 Men’s World Championship in Mannheim, where finals were held in an indoor arena on natural grass for the first time.
The topics of fistball’s global presence, sustainability in sport and the fight against doping are close to his heart. Through his networking in the national and international sports world and his involvement in social media, Jörn Verleger contributes to the awareness and popularity of fistball.
Gastão Englert – Full-blooded fistball enthusiast as designated IFA President
Brazilian Gastão Englert has gotten to know the sport of fistball from many different angles – first as a player, then as a coach, referee and official on various committees. His passion for fistball began in 1982, when he finally decided to play fistball after a successful time as a volleyball player. As a long-time player and coach at SOGIPA, he managed all of the club’s youth teams and later coached the main team for eleven years. In 1999, he began his impressive career as head coach of the Brazilian men’s national team.
He led the men’s national team to two world championship titles and a World Games victory. He also won a world championship with the women’s national team. His club teams won numerous titles, including seven World Cup victories. He is the only coach in the history of fistball to win major titles in all categories for men and women: World Championships, World Games and World Cups.
In addition to his sporting career, Englert studied sports science at the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul and specialized at the German Sport University Cologne. For over 20 years, he managed a non-profit tennis foundation that shaped the lives of over 2,000 children and young people.
His international importance for the sport of fistball is reflected in numerous leadership roles within the International Fistball Association (IFA). As Chairman of the Sports Commission, Director of Olympic Education and Head of the International Referees Commission, he drives the worldwide development of the sport. He is also President of the Pan American Fistball Association (PAFA) and is actively involved in Olympic education committees. Gastão Englert was honored with the “Pierre de Coubertin 150th Anniversary Medal” for his achievements.
Roger Willen – Swiss fistball enthusiast becomes new Vice President
Roger Willen has been playing fistball since 1978 at TSV Jona, one of the major Swiss clubs and organizer of the Raiffeisen Obersee-Masters, one of the IFA World Tour Major tournaments.
From 2001 to 2023, he was a board member of the “Club Freunde der Faustball-Nationalmannschaften CFFN”, the most important patrons’ association of all Swiss national fistball teams, where he was responsible for marketing and membership recruitment.
Willen joined the IFA Board of Directors in 2015 and was responsible for the IFA’s first professional website. At the end of 2018, he took over the Development Program from Alwin Oberkersch and has since been able to support the founding of various new national associations. He was also the “midwife” of the Asia Fistball Association, the Asian continental association based in Hong Kong.
The Swiss sees his role as Development Director as supporting individuals and organizations in establishing new association structures and game operations in countries and regions around the world, as well as supporting existing organizations in their further development
Roger Willen worked as a sales and marketing manager in the IT industry until his retirement last summer. He has a degree in business administration and studied at INSEAD in Paris. He is still co-owner of a Swiss IT company and a board member of a non-profit organization that supports IT projects based on open source software and open data worldwide.
The International World Games Association (IWGA) announced the winners of The World Games Athlete of the Year 2024, as determined by thousands of passionate fans from around the globe.
The final standings of the competition are as follows:
The World Games Athlete of the Year 2024:
Veddriq Leonardo (Indonesia) – Sport Climbing – 77,045 votes on the final round
1st runner-up: Kristin Lätt (Estonia) – Flying Disc – 51,338
2nd runner-up: Xin Tong (China) – Wushu – 26,181
Congratulation Fistball star Isabella Lucchin from Brazil for a strong performance in 2024 and a very good result with 13’419 votes. Isabella finished on 7th place of 18 candidates.
The International World Games Association says: “To all ten finalists, you are all champions in the eyes of the IWGA and your supporters. Your performances, passion, and hard work have elevated your sports and inspired millions. We applaud your incredible contributions to The World Games. Your stories inspire all of us!”
This year’s IFA LIFETIME AWARD goes to Victor Mödinger.
He is certainly still known to the older fistball players as a player of his home club Club Gimnástico Alemán Llanquihue and the Chilean national team.
Victor Mödinger is a person who has not always been in the spotlight, but has achieved great things behind the scenes.
For many years, he was an important promoter and patron of Chilean fistball.
His support was not only financial, but also of inestimable value due to his personal commitment and numerous contacts in Europe.
Thanks to Victor Mödinger, many important connections have been made and projects have been realized that have had a lasting impact on fistball in Chile.
His generosity and his open ear for the concerns of the sport have contributed significantly to the fact that Chilean fistball is now on a solid foundation and can continue to grow.
Victor has more than earned this award.
His tireless commitment and passion for fistball should be an example to us all.
We thank him from the bottom of our hearts for everything he has done for Chilean and international fistball, and we are delighted to present him with the IFA 2024 Lifetime Award today.
Congratulations, Victor Mödinger!
The winner of the IFA 2024 ACTIVITY AWARD is the Female Fistball Future project an initiative of Faustball Austria that aims to increase the participation and presence of women in Fistball.
Five specific sub-groups have been created under the Female Fistball Future slogan, focusing on different aspects:
young female players,
female coaches,
female referees,
female officials
and top female athletes.
Each subgroup is supervised by an experienced mentor who provides insights into her work throughout the year and acts as a role model.
Two action days will be held for each subgroup, during which special workshops, training sessions or events are taking place.
In addition, each mentor will present her work twice via a social media takeover to generate even more attention.
The project started at the Final3 event in June 2024 and ends with the U21 European Championships in 2025.
And the IFA 2024 BEST PICTURE AWARD goes to Moritz Kaufmann.
What a wonderful picture which captures the great dynamic of the sport of Fistball.
Moritz has already won the award in 2022.
He is our first double decorated award winner in IFA history.
Congratulation Moritz and thanks for your dedication.
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