As the INTERACT+ Project goes into it’s second year, the first meeting of 2024 was hosted in Linz, Austria by Project Partner International Fistball Association March 13-14th. The meeting had updates from all work packages. After the successful submission of Literature Review and Theory of Action, University of Limerick updated the Partners on the next stages on testing the Theory of Action as well as the Evaluation process.

Work Package 3 had updates on planning the capacity building trainings for the next two years of the programme. If you are an International Sports Organisation and would like your representatives or employees to learn more about implementing Sport for All in your organisation, please reach out to the capacity building coordinators at geschaefte@frisbeesportverband.de and mbsaibes@foundation.ittf.com. This training is being offered free of charge for any participants who would like to join and will have online trainings for participants not able to travel.

The INTERACT+ Label is an exciting part of the project. We will be launching an online dashboard where organisations can self-evaluate their Sport for All activities, initiatives, and areas of interest in June. To inform and refine the Label, an INTERACT+ Conference with International Sport Organisations and National Sport Federations will be held in Lausanne, Switzerland on October 1st where we can collect expert feedback about the INTERACT+ Label Certification. The next project partner meeting will be online in June.

The field of participants for the 10th Women’s Fistball World Championship has been finalized: Twelve nations from all continents will compete in the world championships in Montecarlo, Argentina, in November. Never before have there been so many participating teams at a Women’s World Championship.

From New Zealand and Australia to the USA, from defending champion Germany to Namibia and from Denmark to host nation Argentina – the list of participating nations is long. When the world’s best female fistball players compete for the world championship title in Montecarlo (Argentina) from November 7 to 10, there will be more teams at the World Championships than ever before. Twelve nations from all continents have registered for the tenth Women’s Fistball World Championship in history. The title fights are being organized by Club Guatambú from the province of Misiones.

Record champions, returners and world championship newcomers

The defending champion, the national team from Germany (9 World Championships participations), will compete in Montecarlo at the beginning of November. The record world champion has won seven of the nine titles awarded to date, including at the last four events. Their opponents in the finals in recent years have been Austria (9), Switzerland (9/World Champions 2002) and Brazil (8/World Champions 2010). The two South American representatives from Argentina (8) and Chile (8) have also been permanent World Championship guests in recent years. The Chileans in particular have proven in recent years with their semi-final appearances in 2016 and 2021 that they are hot on the heels of the top four nations.

This will be Denmark‘s second World Championship appearance in a row, following their debut in Austria in 2021. Four nations will be returning to the international stage. New Zealand (1) last competed at a Women’s World Championship in 2018, while for Australia (1) it will also be their second appearance at a Women’s World Championship after 2016. The United States (1) took part in the 2014 World Championship in Germany, while Namibia (1) will return to an international event after an 18-year break. In 2006, the Africans finished a strong fifth in Switzerland. The starting field is completed by India, who are planning their premiere at a women’s World Championship for Argentina.

“Fistball is played with great enthusiasm on all continents of the world. The starting field for the Fistball World Championship proves this once again. We are delighted that we will see such a large and top-class starting field in November,” says Jörn Verleger, President of the International Fistball Association: “We are convinced that the positive development of women’s fistball worldwide will continue and that the event will provide an additional boost.”

Qualifying event for the World Games

The tenth Women’s Fistball World Championship will be held on the grounds of Club Guatambú in Montecarlo. “The club and its many volunteers have begun intensive preparations for the event,” says Sönke Spille, IFA Head of Events: “We are convinced that the participating teams will provide a great competition that all fans can look forward to.”

The 2024 Women’s Fistball World Championship in Argentina will also serve as a qualifying competition for the 2025 World Games in Chengdu, China. “In addition to the continental champions, the best-placed teams at this World Championship will secure their ticket to Chengdu,” explains Spille. After the premiere in 2022 in Birmingham (USA) with six teams, a total of eight nations will qualify for Chengdu in 2025.

An overview of the participating nations at the IFA 2024 Women’s World Championship (Argentina): Austria, Denmark, Germany, Switzerland (Europe), Argentina, Brazil, Chile, USA (Pan-America), Australia, New Zealand (Oceania), Namibia (Africa), India (Asia)

The 2027 Men’s Fistball World Championship will be held in Germany: The International Fistball Association has once again awarded the biggest fistball event to the country of the current world champion at its most recent Executive Committee meeting. After 1972, 1982, 2007 and 2023, Germany will host the best men’s fistball teams for the fifth time.

It was the highlight of a unique Fistball World Championship 2023: 10.000 spectators created an impressive atmosphere in the final match between Germany and Austria in Mannheim’s SAP Arena. The organizers had installed natural turf in the multifunctional arena just for the event, in which Germany celebrated the world championship title with an impressive performance at the end of the eight-day tournament. In 2027 Germany will host the top international event again. “The 2019 and 2023 World Championships in Switzerland and Germany, but also national national events such as the recent Final4 in Switzerland have shown that fistball has the potential to leave its existing niche and become an attractive team sport in its own right,” says Jörn Verleger, President of the International Fistball Association, on the unanimous decision by the IFA Executive Committee to award the 2027 World Championship to Germany once again: “We want to do this not least because of the sport-political investment made at the 2023 World Championship. For this we see the conditions in the country of the reigning world champions are best suited for this.”

In July 2027, the World Championship is scheduled to take place in July 2027 – where exactly will be will be decided in the coming months. “There will be a call for tenders in which the bidding for a city or a region is possible,” explains Torsten Woitag, member of the board at Faustball Deutschland: “The aim is to find the venue by the end of the year.” The renewed bid for the for the World Championship is part of the 2028 strategic plan that the German association has announced in order to increase the visibility of fistball in the long term. The plan is also to organize further international events to be held at the World Championship venue before 2027. “This general approach of the German bid convinced us,” says IFA President Verleger: “In the coming years, we see the opportunity to refinance the investment and still not have to give up the fistball values.”

The IFA Board of Directors has decided, that the time period of eligibility of players at the World Tour Final will be changed from 5 months prior to the event to a fixed date. The deadline of eligibility is now 1st of April 2024.

Explanation:
The IFA Board of Directors agreed in the board meeting dated 10th of February 2024 that it was the intention that the player must be eligible to play for the participating club for a longer period of time in the field season prior to the World Tour Final. As the original plan was to always hold the World Tour Final in September/October, the 5-month period was developed.

By moving the 2024 World Tour Final to the end of July, the European 2023/24 indoor season would also have been affected if the 5-month deadline had been applied. As it was never the intention of the Board of Directors to affect the indoor season, the regulation has now been clarified by the IFA Board of Directors:
“The time period of eligibility of players at the World Tour Final will be changed from 5 months prior to the event to a fixed date. The new deadline of eligibility is 1st of April.”

This is a general change of the rules which applies to all qualified clubs.

Download 2024 World Tour Final Regulations: World Tour Final Regulations 2024

IFA extends their best wishes all our Chinese friends, and everyone celebrating this Lunar New Year 2024.

May all your wishes come true, good fortune come to you, and above all may you be blessed with good health.

#fistballallovertheworld #wearefistball

Congratulation to all winners and nominees!

The year 2024 has only just begun and some sports fans are already looking ahead to 2025. The 12th World Games will take place in Chengdu (China) next summer. After 2001 (Akita/Japan) and 2009 (Kaohsiung/Chinese Taipei), this will be the third time the multi-sport event has been hosted in Asia. Fistball is also part of the competition program again – with more teams than ever before.

The World Games

The World Games have been held every four years since 1981. Non-Olympic sports from six areas are represented (artistic and dance sports, ball sports, martial arts, precision sports, powersports and trend sports). The last World Games were held in Birmingham (USA) in 2022.

Fistball at the World Games

In 1985, at the second ever World Games, a fistball competition was held for the first time at the multi-sport event in London (Great Britain). Four nations took part, with the winner Germany, Brazil (silver), Austria and Switzerland (both bronze). Four years later, in 1989, there were six men’s teams among the participants – a number that was to continue until the 2017 World Games in Poland.

Participations: With Germany, Austria, Brazil and Switzerland, four nations have taken part in all ten fistball competitions of the World Games. In addition, Argentina (6 participations), Chile (5), Italy (4), Japan, Denmark, Chinese Taipei and the USA have each participated once.

Results: The most successful World Games nation is Germany with seven titles and two bronze medals. Austria (2001, 2005) and Brazil (2009) have also won the gold medal in the past. Switzerland has not yet won the title, but has always reached the final at the last four editions and won the silver medal.

From Birmingham to Chengdu

2022 in Birmingham (USA) was the last time the world’s best fistball teams competed in the World Games. The women’s competition celebrated a premiere. For the first time ever, Germany, Austria, Switzerland (Europe), Brazil, the USA (America) and New Zealand (Oceania) had women’s fistball teams competing at the World Games. Germany became the first ever winners of the title by beating Switzerland in the final. The field of participants for 2025 was increased by two more teams – to eight nations.

The World Games 2025 delegation from Chengdu also came to Birmingham to see the fistball at the World Games for themselves. They took the opportunity to complete their own short fistball training session with Gastao Englert – and get a first-hand impression of the sport.

World Games 2025

The 12th edition of the World Games will take place in Chengdu, China, from August 7 to 17, 2025. Over 5,000 athletes will travel to the city of 21 million people in the southwest of the country to compete in a total of 35 sports. The opening and closing ceremonies are planned to be held at the Dong’an Lake Sports Park Stadium, which has a capacity of 40,000 spectators. Chen Yanfu, Deputy Secretary of the Chengdu Municipal Committee, is convinced that the event will be a major highlight: “We will make the World Games in Chengdu a wonderful example of the development of new sports and the promotion of a modern sports culture.”

The fistball competitions

Eight men’s and eight women’s teams will be competing at the 2025 World Games in China – more than ever before. “This is a great signal for the development of the sport of fistball,” says Christoph Oberlehner, Secretary General of the International Fistball Association. Together with the International World Games Association (IWGA) and the local organizing committee, preparations for the fistball competitions have begun. The Chengdu University Stadium has been chosen as the venue. The stadium can accommodate 4,000 spectators. “The first teams have already qualified, and the other nations will follow in the coming months,” says Sönke Spille, IFA Competition Manager for the World Games: “We are working closely together there and will also clarify all the details on site in advance to guarantee optimal conditions for all athletes.”