The International Fistball Association (IFA), as a proud member of the International World Games Association (IWGA), is pleased to inform you about an exciting opportunity to support and elevate women in leadership positions within Fistball.
As part of its ongoing commitment to gender equality and leadership development, the IWGA is offering its member federations the opportunity to nominate candidates for the WomenLeadSports Master Programme 2025.
About the Programme
The WomenLeadSports Master Programme combines expert theoretical input with practical leadership strategies and has demonstrated great success in previous editions.
World Games 1985 London: Dieter Thomas (Germany) at the competition in Barnet Copthall Stadium.
Fistball and The World Games have been a great combination for four decades. At just the second edition of the multi-sport event, a men’s fistball tournament was held for the first time in London in 1985. Four nations competed, and Germany claimed the inaugural title. Udo Mehle, a striker for TSV Bayer 04 Leverkusen, made history as part of the winning team.
Rain. That’s the first thing Udo Mehle remembers when thinking back to the 1985 World Games in August. It was the first time fistball players could present their sport on the stage of this international multi-sport event for non-Olympic disciplines—and they did so under extremely poor weather conditions. “It rained almost continuously during the entire fistball competition,” he recalls. But despite the uncooperative weather, many other moments stayed with Mehle, making those days in London truly special.
Four Teams in London
Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and Brazil were the four competing nations. South West Africa (Namibia) had also registered but was denied entry due to political tensions in southern Africa. The tournament format included a round-robin with home and away matches over two days to determine the semifinal pairings. The German team entered the tournament highly motivated—not only to win the first-ever World Games title but also to redeem themselves after losing the European Championship to Austria a year earlier. “After winning the World Championship in 1982 in Hanover, there had been some changes in the squad that weren’t fully settled yet,” Mehle recalls.
During that time, Mehle earned his place in the national team—something he had never dreamed of as a youth player. He started playing at age eight in Cologne and continued until age 17. “Then the team fell apart,” Mehle explains. He transferred to Leverkusen, a Bundesliga club, where the demands were suddenly much higher. “With my poor technique, I was often used as a bad example during training drills,” he laughs. But the young striker didn’t let that stop him. He worked hard and had a mentor in Udo Cymera. “Without him, I probably never would have made the national team,” Mehle admits.
Strong Performances in the Group Stage and Semis
In 1985, Mehle and his teammates had a golden opportunity to take part in The World Games. “It was definitely something special—something everyone wanted to be part of,” says the former national player. The matches were held at Barnet Copthall Stadium, alongside the tug-of-war competition. While the European teams fielded their best squads, Brazil sent a promising but inexperienced team that struggled against seasoned opponents. Mehle played right front in the matches, alongside Germany’s all-time most-capped player Dieter Thomas. “My job was to chase down short balls and be ready to step in for Dieter on the attack—sometimes even after 28 minutes without hitting a single ball.”
Germany topped the group after both legs, ahead of Austria on points, and cruised past Brazil in the semifinal (39:23). “The Brazilians arrived with sponsor logos on their jerseys, but that wasn’t allowed under the World Games rules, so they had to turn their shirts inside out,” Mehle remembers.
Heavy Rain on Final Day
That wasn’t the only odd story. The tug-of-war athletes also made a mark—literally. “They held their finals right next to our field and dug their heels so deep into the turf they reached the drainage system. It looked more like a plowed field than a lawn,” laughs Mehle. The tough conditions also affected the fistball tournament. The third-place match between Switzerland and Brazil was canceled due to heavy rain, and both teams were awarded bronze medals. The final between Germany and Austria went ahead, however. It was played over two 15-minute halves, with Germany pulling away after a tight first half (17:14) to secure victory (37:29).
Even though there was no athletes’ village, for the German team, it still felt a bit like being at the Olympic Games. “Our matches were held in the middle of the overall World Games schedule, so we didn’t take part in the opening or closing ceremonies,” says Mehle. There was also no time to watch other sports. “Still, it had a special atmosphere, a special vibe—and part of that was thanks to the great team spirit we had.”
The 1985 World Games in London would not be Mehle’s only appearance. He also made the squad for the 1989 edition in Karlsruhe, where Germany defended the title in front of 5,000 fans. Later, he served as an international referee at the 1997 Games in Lahti (Finland) and in 2009 (Taiwan), and he attended the 2005 Games in Duisburg as a spectator.
Final Standings – World Games 1985:
Germany
Austria
Switzerland & Brazil (shared bronze)
Original text: Faustball Deutschland at the 2022 World Games (Author: Sönke Spille)
The groups have been drawn for the 2025 World Tour Finals for men and women, the world championship for club teams. The top club fistball teams will compete in July at the Volksbank Stadium in Vöcklabruck. Preparations for the event are in full swing.
The preliminary round groups for the IFA Fistball World Tour Finals 2025 in Mannheim have been decided: The International Fistball Association has determined the group stage for the club world cup. Based on established guidelines, the Sports Commission drew the preliminary round groups, which will be played on Thursday, July 24, and Friday, July 25, at the Volksbank Stadium in Vöcklabruck. And they promise exciting matches for both the women and the men.
Men: Vöcklabruck aims to thrill home crowd
The Union Tigers Vöcklabruck are the team to beat in the men’s competition. After their first triumph as the world’s best club team last year, the hosts are now looking to defend their title. In the “David Lorenz” preliminary round group, they will face Clube Mercês (Brazil), Faustball Wigoltingen (Switzerland), and the South Jersey Fistball Club (USA). The preliminary round group “Michael Feichtenschlager” is likely to be extremely balanced. SG Novo Hamburgo (Brazil), winner of the 2024 World Tour and bronze medalist from last year, will face reigning European Cup winner FBC LINZ AG Urfahr (Austria), TV Vaihingen/Enz (Germany), and DSG UKJ Froschberg (Austria).
Women: Defending champions TSV Dennach face strong competition
In the women’s competition, defending champions TSV Dennach (Germany) will face Faustball Kreuzlingen (Switzerland), TSV Calw (Germany) and Clube Duque de Caxias (Brazil) in the preliminary round group named after Franz Bakan. The “Harald Bayer” group is led by last year’s finalists TV Jahn Schneverdingen (Germany) and completed by SOGIPA/Cargo Way (Brazil), SVD Diepoldsau-Schmitter and FG Elgg-Ettenhausen (both Switzerland).
All four preliminary round groups are named after Vöcklabrucker fistball personalities. They are a small tribute to four attackers who shaped the history of the fistball club in their generation.
Joint final day on Sunday
The top fistball teams will be guests in Vöcklabruck for four days, from July 24 to 27. In the preliminary round matches on Thursday and Friday, the two best teams from each group will advance to the semifinals of the World Tour Finals. These will start on Saturday, July 26, at 2 p.m. The third- and fourth-placed teams will compete in the semifinals of the President’s Cup to determine the teams that will play for 5th and 7th place. The medal matches will begin on Sunday, July 27, at 12 noon. The two finals are scheduled for 3 p.m. (women) and 4:30 p.m. (men). “We are looking forward to a tournament with many exciting matches – the participating teams definitely promise a high-class event,” says Gastão Englert, Chairman of the IFA Sports Commission.
“We can look forward to perfect conditions in Vöcklabruck,” says Sönke Spille, IFA Head of Events: ”The infrastructure at the Volbankstadion provides optimal conditions. The organizing team already has extensive experience in hosting national and international events. We can expect a great event both on and off the field.”
Host Vöcklabruck: Organizational details being finalized
For the first time, Union Tigers Vöcklabruck will host the world’s best club teams. “Preparations for the World Tour Final in July are in full swing,” says Stefan Huemer, head of the organizing committee: “At the moment, we are mainly busy with personnel planning, from the transport service to the ball boys and girls to the catering team.” The essential framework conditions are running according to plan – a large group of volunteers has been recruited for the four days of the event as well as for the days leading up to it (set-up, welcoming the overseas teams) and afterwards (breakdown).
The website will also go live shortly, including ticket sales. “The teams can expect a great, friendly fistball atmosphere in Vöcklabruck,” emphasizes Huemer: “The athletes will want for nothing!” In addition to top-class fistball, fans can look forward to excellent catering. A wine and cocktail lounge will open on Friday and Saturday at the legendary “@Toni’s,” and the Players Party will take place on the final day. “We are also working on an additional program for the overseas teams,” reveals Huemer: “The area around Vöcklabruck offers a particularly varied landscape and beautiful nature with its lakes and foothills of the Alps.”
To establish a consistent standard for organizing high-quality fistball events that reflect the IFA’s commitment to excellence, athlete well-being, innovation, and sustainability—while increasing international appeal and engagement—the IFA Board has decided to restructure the Club World Cup, with full implementation planned for 2027. As part of this transition, a temporary event will be held in 2026. Its aim is to strengthen and align with the existing continental competitions.
This decision follows a process led by the IFA Sports Commission, involving input from the sports commissions of the continental associations and discussions with the IFA Athletes’ Commission leadership. The IFA World Tour Finals 2025, scheduled to take place in Vöcklabruck (Austria) from July 24 to 27 under the current format, will remain unaffected by this decision.
“With the break in the World Tour in 2025, we have taken the opportunity to realign the format of the World Cup from 2026 and also to strengthen the importance of the continental competitions held,” says Jörn Verleger, President of the IFA: “The format that has now been decided applies exclusively to 2026. With a restart of the World Tour in 2027, there is the opportunity to reintegrate the top teams from this ranking list into the field of participants.”
New format for 2026
From 2026, the IFA Fistball Club World Championship will be held with six participating teams each for men and women. Qualification will take place exclusively via the continental championships. The first and second-placed teams from the two largest continental associations, Europe and Pan-America/South America, qualify. The fifth starting place goes to one of the continental champions from Asia, Oceania, Africa and North America. Which of these continental associations provides a team is determined based on evaluation criteria such as the number of participating nations and teams in the continental competition. The sixth starting place is allocated to an organizer. If one of the teams does not take part, a successor rule will apply.
“We are convinced that this will create a strong field of participants for an attractive competition,” says Gastao Englert, Chairman of the IFA Sports Commission: “The Club World Cup will award the most important title in club fistball, making it one of our highlight events in international fistball.” Feedback from sports officials in the continental federations was also included in the development of the field of participants. “We held many discussions and had a very constructive exchange,” says Englert.
Prospects for 2027
While the format for 2026 has been approved by the IFA Board of Directors, a commission is now stablished and doing a force task to work on the concept for the 2027 Club World Championship. Under the leadership of Gastao Englert, this commission includes club representatives and organizers of previous World Tour Major, 500 and 250 tournaments, reaching out all event levels. “Thanks to the experience and World Tour know-how of the members, we are convinced that we can successfully set up the World Tour for the future with an update,” says Englert.
A key component of the plans is the reintegration of the IFA Fistball World Tour into the qualification system for the Club World Cup. Englert: “Our aim is to integrate the best teams from the World Tour perfectly into the Club World Championship and thus further increase the quality and attractiveness of the competition.”
Sportastic will provide the official match balls for the fistball competitions at the 2025 World Games in China. The IFA Fistball World Tour Finals 2025 in Vöcklabruck will also be played with balls from the Austrian sports equipment manufacturer.
It will be the big sporting highlight in the 2025 fistball calendar: from August 9 to 13, the fistball competitions will take place in Chengdu, China, as part of the World Games. Eight men’s and eight women’s teams will compete for the title in Tianfu Park. All matches will be played with Sportastic balls. The Austrian sports equipment manufacturer and the International Fistball Association are thus continuing their partnership, which has been ongoing since 2009, particularly at the World Games.
Official match balls for men and women
Fistball fans will be looking towards Chengdu for five days in August 2025. When the men’s and women’s titles in the fistball competitions of the World Games are awarded in Tianfu Park, the International Fistball Association will be relying on match balls from Sportastic. The Austrian sporting goods and sports equipment manufacturer will provide the match balls for both the men’s and women’s competitions. “We are delighted to continue our trusting partnership with Sportastic at the World Games,” says Jörn Verleger, President of the International Fistball Association: “The World Games are a great opportunity for fistball to showcase itself in a multi-sport event. It is therefore all the more important that we can rely on the proven quality of Sportastic for the match ball.” Sportastic has provided the official match balls for the fistball competitions since the 2009 World Games in Kaohsiung – so this will be the fifth time in Chengdu. And, as at the 2017 World Games in Wroclaw (Poland), Sportastic will be producing its own World Games design.
“It is with great pleasure that we are once again providing the balls for the World Games in China. The decades-long success story between IFA/EFA and Sportastic is now entering the next round. It’s great that the international sport of fistball has trusted our ball quality for so long. Here’s to the next decades,” says Thomas Stadler, owner of Sportastic. The balls in the limited World Games edition are now available in the Sportastic online store (https://www.sportastic.com/).
World Tour Finals 2025 also with Sportastic
Sportastic will also be providing the match balls for the most important IFA club competition. From 24 to 27 July – just two weeks before the World Games – the IFA Fistball World Tour Finals will take place in Vöcklabruck (Austria) with the top eight men’s and women’s teams. Sportastic has been providing the match balls since the first World Tour Finals were held in 2018.
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.
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