Floorball - World Championships

World Championships

The world floorball championships are an annual event where teams from across the world gather to play in a tournament in order to win the world championship. As of 2011, eight Men's, eight Women's, six Men's Under-19, and four Women's Under-19 World Floorball Championships have taken place. The Czech Republic, Finland, Norway Sweden, and Switzerland remain the only five countries to have ever captured a medal at a World Championship event.

• The Men's World Floorball Championships take place every December (since 2008) in every even year.
• The Women's World Floorball Championships take place every December (since 2009) in every odd year.
• The Men's under-19 World Floorball Championships take place every May (since 2009) in every odd year.
• The Women's under-19 World Floorball Championships take place every May (since 2008) in every even year.

From 1996 to 2009, the IFF used a World Floorball Championship format where the last team in the A-Division was relegated to the B-Division, while the top team in the B-Division was promoted to the A-Division. This format caused much hardship for countries such as Australia, Canada, Slovakia, and Spain, who have all been trying to get to the B-Division from the C-Division since 2004. In 2010, the IFF adopted a FIFA-like continental qualification system, where teams must qualify to play at the world championships. Depending on the number of countries registered per continent or region, the IFF gives spots for the world championships. For example, Argentina, Brazil, Canada and the United States would need to play for one spot at the world championships in a continental qualification tournament for the Americas.