All teams have arrived at the venue and were welcomed by Ralf Eisenhauer – the mayor of Mannheim reponsible for sports matters – and IFA President Verleger Joern.
In his opening speech at the official welcome dinner Verleger thanked the host of VfR Mannheim 1896 e.V. and the Stadt Mannheim for their support of the event. Today the competition started at 9.00 a.m. and all participating teams are fighting for the title best Fistball club team in the world.
The men’s and women’s World Tour Finals are returning to Germany. From 18 to 21 July the best club teams in the world will meet in Mannheim – at the same venue where the men’s Fistball World Championship took place a year ago.
It is almost exactly a year since the fistball world looked to Mannheim. The men’s world championship was a sporting spectacle – which will now be repeated this summer. From July 18 to 21, the IFA Fistball World Tour Finals – the Club World Championship – will take place in the Rhein-Neckar Stadium. Eight women’s and eight men’s teams will compete to determine the best club teams in the world. The two defending champions TV Jahn Schneverdingen (women) and SG Novo Hamburgo (men) will also be taking part in the four days of competition. They will first have to assert themselves in one of the two preliminary round groups, from which only the two best teams will remain in the title race and make it through to the semi-finals.
The women from TV Jahn Schneverdingen (Germany) are currently the measure of all things: After triumphing at the 2023 World Tour Finals, the reigning German champions also won the European Cup for the first time since 2006 at the beginning of July. “We want to attack again this year and have our sights firmly set on the gold medal,” says Laura Kauk, captain of TV Jahn: “The demands on ourselves have risen enormously in recent years, the goal is clearly to bring the World Cup back to Schneverdingen!” In the preliminary round, the team will face FG Elgg-Ettenhausen (Switzerland), the newly crowned Austrian national champions FBC Linz-Urfahr and SVD Diepoldsau-Schmitter, who are currently unbeaten at the top of the league table in Switzerland.
In the second preliminary round group, the winner of the South American Cup, Sogipa Porto Alegre (Brazil), will face the 2023 European Cup winners, TSV Dennach (Germany), among others. The group is completed by Faustball Kreuzlingen (Switzerland) and UFG Grieskirchen/Pötting (Austria).
The men’s preliminary round groups also promise plenty of excitement. TSV Pfungstadt, serial winners of German championships in recent years and European Cup winners in 2023, will face Union Tigers Vöcklabruck (Austrian champions in 2024), DSG UKJ Froschberg (3rd place Austria 2024) and the local heroes from TV Käfertal, who recently finished fourth in the European Cup, in their preliminary round group. Nevertheless, the starting position for TVK is not ideal. There is still a question mark behind the two attackers Nick Trinemeier and Marcel Stoklasa due to injury. However, defensive specialist Nico Müller is back in the squad. “That’s good for our squad,” emphasized Nick Trinemeier: “On the other hand, the boys put in a great performance at the Champions Cup. We accept the situation as it is.” The world champion rates the group as extremely strong: “We have two candidates for the final in Pfungstadt and Vöcklabruck, and Froschberg were also very successful in Austria. That means we have three tough games, but we want to give our best performance and win the games.”
Defending champions SG Novo Hamburgo (Brazil) are also likely to be among the favorites. In the preliminary round, the team will face their Brazilian opponents Sogipa Porto Alegre and the two Austrian teams UFG Grieskirchen/Pötting and TV Enns.
Meanwhile, the preparations for the organizers have entered the home straight. VfR Mannheim, the City of Mannheim and the Förderverein Faustball² are looking forward to the start, which will take place on Wednesday evening with the traditional Welcome Dinner. “We are looking forward to a great event,” says Christoph Oberlehner, Secretary General of the International Fistball Association and head of the organizing committee. With VfR Mannheim, a soccer club has become heavily involved in the organization. “We at VfR were very enthusiastic about last year’s World Championship and the sport of fistball. This gave rise to the idea of us getting involved in the organization of an international fistball event,” explains Boris Scheuermann, President of VfR Mannheim: “We are delighted that we will be hosting the best club teams in the world over the next few days.” And the city of Mannheim is also looking forward to the event in the “world capital of fistball”, as Ingo Kirrinnis, Head of the Sports & Leisure Department, said: “It’s impressive that three German Championships and the 2023 World Championship have taken place since 2018 and that the next fistball event is now taking place here in Mannheim.”
Tickets for the matches are available at the box office, including the Feierabend-Ticket: This gives you the opportunity to watch the matches on Thursday and Friday from 5 pm for 5 euros each – with matches such as the classic men’s match between TSV Pfungstadt and TV Käfertal (Thursday, 6 pm) and the two women’s semi-finals on Friday (6 pm and 7.30 pm).
The men’s and women’s competitions start on Thursday and Friday, July 18 and 19, with the preliminary round matches. The 40 matches of the 2024 World Tour Finals will be broadcast live on www.fistball.TV. SWR will also stream the four semi-finals and medal matches live. The commentator will be Patrick Stricker.
Sportastic is continuing its commitment to international fistball. The Women’s Fistball World Championship in November and the IFA World Tour Finals 2024 and 2025 will be played with Sportastic fistballs. This means that the collaboration between the Austrian sports equipment manufacturer and the International Fistball Association will continue.
When the best women’s national teams determine the new women’s world champion in Montecarlo, Argentina, from November 7 to 10, the Sportastic ball will once again be in the spotlight. For the first time since the inaugural event in 1994, a Women’s World Championship will be held in Argentina. Twelve nations are set to take part in the international fistball highlight. As at the last two World Championships in 2018 and 2021, the twelve participating nations will play with the official Sportastic match ball. “We are expecting the biggest Fistball World Championship in history in Argentina,” says Jörn Verleger, President of the International Fistball Association: “We are all the happier that we can rely on the proven quality of Sportastic for the match ball.”
The Women’s Fistball World Championship is not the only highlight on the 2024 fistball calendar. The IFA World Tour Finals will also be played with Sportastic balls. “Sportastic has provided the official match ball for our Club World Championship since the first event in 2018. We are very pleased that we can continue this trusting cooperation – even for the next two events,” says IFA Secretary General Christoph Oberlehner. The 2024 World Tour Finals – featuring the eight best men’s and women’s club teams in the world – will take place in Mannheim (Germany) from July 18 to 21. The 2025 event will also take place in Europe. Sportastic will also provide the match ball for the men’s and women’s competition.
“It is with great pleasure that we are once again providing the balls for the World Tour Finals and the Women’s World Cup in Argentina,” says Sportastic Managing Director Thomas Stadler: “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. To the next decades!”
In the Sports Committee of the German Bundestag: IFA President suggests better integration, networking and financial support for the international work of non-Olympic associations
Berlin (hib/HAU) German sports policy lacks a structural approach to better assert German interests at the level of world sports federations. This was made clear by Thomas Konietzko, President of the International Canoe Federation (ICF), Jörn Verleger, President of the International Fistball Association (IFA), Ingo Weiss, Treasurer of the World Basketball Federation (FIBA) and sports scientist Professor Jürgen Mittag from the German Sport University Cologne (DSHS), who were invited to a public meeting of the Sports Committee of the German Bundestag on Wednesday.
ICF President Konietzko said to the MPs: “You must decide whether you prioritize the representation of Germans on the committees differently in the future.” This would require appropriate political decisions “so that in future it is no longer dependent on chance that Germans can assume high offices in sport”.
The path to the presidency of an international sports organization usually requires a combination of experience, network, commitment and personal qualities, said sports scientist Jürgen Mittag. In addition to holding other leadership positions, establishing strategic alliances and gaining support through a consensus-based program of one’s own are decisive factors in the bid.
Jörn Verleger, President of the International Fistball Association (IFA), who is also a member of the informal group of so-called “International Germans” established by the German Olympic Committee (DOSB), presented the perspective of a non-Olympic association. So far, however, the circle of ” International Germans ” has not been considered in a targeted manner, for example via an invitation distribution list maintained by the DOSB and taken into account by the associations at events. “This means that opportunities are missed,” said Verleger. This applies in particular to non-Olympic sport and its indirect opportunities to exert influence. It is striking that other nations are much better at “placing national representatives at international level and supporting each other in this work”.
More: https://www.bundestag.de/presse/hib/kurzmeldungen-1010384
IFA was represented last week at the MEI Hosts and Federations Summit at the Olympic Museum in Lausanne by President Jörn Verleger and at TEAMS Europe in London by Secretary General Chris Oberlehner. Thanks to Major Events International Ltd and Northstar meetings group for the opportunity to update cities, suppliers and sporting colleagues on Fistball and the opportunities through our events.
Photocredit: Major Events International Ltd
The world is moving faster than ever, but people are moving less. According to the World Health Organisation research has found that one in four adults and over 80 per cent of young people do not meet the recommended minimum activity levels needed for optimum health. Not having enough time in the day is one of the most common reasons given for not being able to reach this goal. At the same time, starting with just 30 minutes of movement a day has significant health benefits for hearts, bodies and minds.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has announced a new global initiative to inspire and enable the world to move more every day. Led by Olympians and created in collaboration with WHO, Let’s Move will begin on Olympic Day, 23 June 2023, with an invitation to make time every day for movement for better health.
IOC President Thomas Bach said, “On Olympic Day, we celebrate the Olympic Movement’s mission to make the world a better place through sport. When we do sport, it keeps our mind and body strong and healthy. When we do sport, it inspires us to always give it our best and it makes us dream, it spreads joy and it brings us together. This year, together with the WHO, we are highlighting the positive impacts sport has on both physical and mental health. We want to inspire the world to move more every day. Sport and physical activity are the low-cost, high-impact tool for healthy bodies and healthy minds and resilient communities.”
Let’s move and celebrate together! Share your joy and tag IFA, The World Games and @olympics in your stories.
For more information on global and local participation events on Olympic Day, visit olympics.com.
#olympicday #WeAreTheWorldGames #wearefistball
The groups for the 2024 Men’s and Women’s World Tour Finals, the world championship for club teams, have been drawn. The top teams in club fistball will compete in Mannheim’s Rhein-Neckar Stadium in July. There is still a ticket discount on advance sales until 15 June.
The preliminary round groups for the IFA Fistball World Tour Finals 2024 in Mannheim have been determined: The International Fistball Association has set the group phase for the Club World Championship. Based on established guidelines, the Sports Commission drew the preliminary round groups, which will be played on Thursday, July 18 and Friday, July 19 in Mannheim’s Rhein-Neckar Stadium. And they promise to be exciting duels in both the men’s and women’s competitions.
SG Novo Hamburgo, winners of the title at the last tournament in Curitiba (Brazil) in October, will face competition from Brazil and Austria in preliminary round group B. South American champions SOGIPA Porto Alegre, UFG Sparkasse Grieskirchen/Pötting and AWN TV Enns are also in the group of the defending champions. In preliminary round group A, TSV Pfungstadt, last year’s finalists and reigning European Cup winners, will face Union Tigers Vöcklabruck (2nd place IFA Fistball World Tour 2023), DSG UKJ Froschberg from Austria and the Mannheim local heroes from TV Käfertal, who won silver and bronze at the last German Field and Indoor Championships.
Last October, TV Jahn Schneverdingen won the IFA Fistball World Tour Finals for the first time and thus automatically qualified for this year’s event. In the group phase, the team from Lower Saxony will face FG Elgg-Ettenhausen (Switzerland/2nd place IFA Fistball World Tour 2023), FBC Linz AG Urfahr (Austria) and SVD Diepoldsau-Schmitter (Switzerland). In preliminary round group A, the champions from South America and Europe, SOGIPA Porto Alegre (Brazil) and TSV Dennach (Germany), will face Faustball Kreuzlingen (Switzerland) and UFG Sparkasse Grieskirchen/Pötting (Austria).
The preliminary round matches will take place on Thursday and Friday. The women’s semi-finals will take place on Friday evening, while the men’s semi-finals are scheduled for Saturday morning. The women’s placement matches, including the bronze and gold matches, will then take place. The men’s World Tour Finals – including the final – will conclude on Sunday. Tickets for the event are available online until June 15 with discount code WTFinals2024.
Ticket orders: https://finals24.fistball-worldtour.com/tickets/
Men
On World Environment Day, German Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, together with the German Federal Environmental Foundation (DBU), invites to the “Week of the Environment”. Amongst others, IFA President Jörn Verleger was guest in the park of Schloss Bellevue.
For the seventh time, the park of the Federal President’s official residence will be transformed into a city of tents and stages – with around 190 exhibitors as well as a stage and expert forum program on current environmental topics and with well-known and high-ranking personalities from politics, society, business and science. The main stage will host four high-profile panels on the topics of hydrogen technology, climate neutrality and energy security, biodiversity and resource conservation as well as transformation and social cohesion.
A healthy environment is essential. Over 3 billion people are affected by degraded ecosystems. Pollution causes around 9 million premature deaths every year. More than 1 million plant and animal species are threatened with extinction.
Sustainability must become the central basis for decision-making for all of us.
From the policies we support, to the food and transportation choices we make, to the companies whose customers we are. We can all make environmentally friendly choices that will collectively bring about the necessary changes.
“To support natural climate protection, it is crucial to promote a sustainable way of life. Sustainability involves using resources responsibly, reducing waste and promoting renewable energy. Individual action can make a big difference. Everyone can make a contribution to climate protection by taking small steps such as reducing energy consumption, using public transport or recycling waste,” says IFA President Jörn Verleger.
World Environment Day was first proclaimed by the United Nations in 1972. It aims to raise awareness of environmental issues and encourage people to take action. In Germany, Environment Day has been celebrated since 1980.
Where today Cannes is celebrating the final day of the international film festival, the “Festival de Cannes” three months ago the WADA Education Conference was run.
With its highest attendance the Global Education Conference staged at the palais de festival in Cannes three months ago, demonstrated that education is an integral pillar of anti-doping, and a central resource in the protection of clean sport.
Under the theme of ‘Cultivating Our Collective Creativity’, more than 400 participants including IFA President Jörn Verleger contributed to a common education agenda.
“The WADA Global Education Conference in Cannes has changed by view on our clean sport education agenda. We have to change our compliance mindset to a prevention mindset and should much more focus on prevention, value based education and collaboration”, said Verleger.
The fourth edition of the Global Education Conference demonstrated the values of education (not only ins sports) and the importance of continuous improvement through monitoring and evaluation of existing programs and guidelines.
Planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of effective education programs are core objectives of the WADA 2021 International Standard of Education.
„Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world“ (Nelson Mandela)
The 2024 Men’s and Women’s World Tour Finals, the world championship for club teams, will take place in Mannheim in July. Tickets are now on sale for the four-day event in the Rhein-Neckar Stadium.
Experience the best fistball teams in the world live – sports enthusiasts can do just that from July 18 to 21 in Mannheim’s Rhein-Neckar Stadium. Just one year after the Fistball World Championships, the international fistball stars will once again be guests in the Rhine-Neckar metropolitan region. The eight best men’s and women’s club teams will determine their champions over the four days.
“The World Tour Finals in Mannheim promise fistball sport at the highest level,” says Christoph Oberlehner, head of the organizing committee, which consists of the Förderverein Faustball², the International Fistball Association and VfR Mannheim: “The people of Mannheim will still have fond memories of the 2023 Fistball World Championship with the games in the Rhein-Neckar Stadium and the SAP Arena. This year, they can once again look forward to top-class sport – with the best men’s and women’s club teams.” The fistballers from TV Käfertal will also be taking part and, as local heroes, have the chance to assert themselves among the international elite.
Tickets for the event days can now be booked via the event’s homepage. “In addition to the event pass for all four days, we also offer the option of a weekend ticket as well as day tickets,” emphasizes Oberlehner. Day tickets are available from just 12 euros, with discounted tickets for children, young people and students. Early bookers also have the chance to receive a 20 percent discount on tickets in all categories until Friday, May 31. “So it pays to be quick,” emphasizes Oberlehner: “I am convinced that there will once again be a great fistball atmosphere in Mannheim.”
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