Federation of International Bandy facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Federation of International Bandy

Formation	12 February 1955
Type	Sports federation
Headquarters	Karlstad Municipality, Sweden
Membership	28 members
Official language	English Swedish Russian
President	Henrik Nilsson
Website	worldbandy.com

World map showing the present members of FIB (green)

World map showing the 4 original members of FIB (green)

The Federation of International Bandy (FIB) is the main organization that runs the sport of bandy around the world. This includes a version called rink bandy. The FIB's main office is in Karlstad Municipality, Sweden.

What is Bandy?

Bandy is a team sport played on ice. It is a bit like ice hockey and soccer combined. Players use sticks to hit a ball into the opponent's goal. It's a fast and exciting game!

How the FIB Started

Bandy has been played for a long time, since the late 1800s. Rules for the game were first made in the 1890s in England and Russia.

In 1908, an organization called the Ligue International de Hockey sur Glace (LIHG) was formed. At that time, bandy and ice hockey were seen as very similar games. But as ice hockey became an Olympic sport and bandy did not, bandy became less popular in many places. It mostly continued to be played in countries like Finland, Norway, Sweden, and the Soviet Union. The LIHG is now known as the International Ice Hockey Federation.

In the 1940s, Finland, Norway, and Sweden worked together to create common rules for bandy. In the early 1950s, the Soviet Union also started to work with these countries.

The Federation of International Bandy (FIB) was officially created on February 12, 1955. This happened at Hotell Malmen in Stockholm, Sweden. Representatives from Finland, Norway, the Soviet Union, and Sweden were the founding members. Since 1979, the FIB has been based in Sweden. Henrik Nilsson is the current President of the FIB.

When the FIB started in 1955, it made sure that the same rules for bandy were used everywhere. Before this, different rules were sometimes used, especially in Russia. The first Bandy World Championship for men was held in 1957. The Women's Bandy World Championship started much later, in 2004.

The federation was first called the International Bandy Federation (IBF) until 2001. Its name was changed to FIB because the International Olympic Committee (IOC) asked for it. The IOC wanted to recognize bandy as a sport, but another organization already used the IBF name. In 2004, the IOC officially accepted FIB.

The FIB is also a member of important sports groups like the Association of IOC Recognised International Sports Federations. This helps bandy be seen as a major sport around the world.

What the FIB Does

The FIB has several important goals:

• It follows the rules and ideas of the Olympic Charter. This includes making sure sports are fair and that there are rules against doping (using banned substances).
• It wants to help bandy and rink bandy grow in more countries.
• The FIB also works hard to make bandy an Olympic sport.
• It is the main organization that guides bandy activities worldwide.
• The FIB also creates and updates the rules for bandy games.
• It chooses which country will host the official world championships. At least four countries must take part for it to be a proper event.
• The FIB also tries to get new countries to join the organization.

Bandy Rules

The official rules for bandy are written in the Bandy Playing Rules. A special committee called the Rules and Referee Committee makes sure these rules are followed and updated.

Working with Other Sports

The FIB works with the International Skating Union. They have an agreement to use the same ice arenas. Both organizations want more indoor places with large ice surfaces to be built. This helps both bandy and ice skating sports.

FIB Presidents

Here are the people who have been president of the FIB:

Bandy Events

The FIB helps organize many exciting bandy events:

• Bandy World Championship (for men, since 1957)
• Women's Bandy World Championship
• Youth Bandy World Championship (for different age groups of boys and girls)
• Bandy World Cup
• Bandy World Cup Women
• Bandy World Cup Girls Y17
• European Cup
• Bandy at the Asian Winter Games
• Bandy at the 2019 Winter Universiade

Countries in the FIB

The FIB was started by Finland, Norway, the Soviet Union, and Sweden in 1955. After the Soviet Union broke up in 1991, Russia took its place in the FIB in 1992.

As of March 2022, there were 27 countries that were members of the FIB. These countries are grouped into four main areas:

In September 2023, Italy also became a provisional member.

Current Members

Association	FIB affiliation	National teams
Afghanistan	2012	Men's U21 U19 U17 Women's W U21 W U17
Armenia	2008
Belarus	1999	Men's U21 U19 U17 Women's W U21 W U17
Canada	1983	Men's U21 U19 U17 Women's W U21 W U17
China	2010	Men's U21 U19 U17 Women's W U21 W U17
Colombia	2017
Czech Republic	2014	Men's U21 U19 U17 Women's W U21 W U17
Estonia	2002	Men's U21 U19 U17 Women's W U21 W U17
Finland	1955	Men's U21 U19 U17 Women's W U21 W U17
Germany	2013	Men's U21 U19 U17 Women's W U21 W U17
Great Britain	2010	Men's U21 U19 U17 Women's W U21 W U17
Hungary	1989	Men's U21 U19 U17 Women's W U21 W U17
India	2002	Men's U21 U19 U17 Women's W U21 W U17
Italy	2024	Men's U21 U19 U17 Women's W U21 W U17
Japan	2011	Men's U21 U19 U17 Women's W U21 W U17
Kazakhstan	1993	Men's U21 U19 U17 Women's W U21 W U17
Latvia	2006	Men's U21 U19 U17 Women's W U21 W U17
Lithuania	2008
Mongolia	2002	Men's U21 U19 U17 Women's W U21 W U17
Netherlands	1973	Men's U21 U19 U17 Women's W U21 W U17
Norway	1955	Men's U21 U19 U17 Women's W U21 W U17
Russia	1992	Men's U21 U19 U17 Women's W U21 W U17
Slovakia	2017	Men's U21 U19 U17 Women's W U21 W U17
Somalia	2013	Men's U21 U19 U17 Women's W U21 W U17
Sweden	1955	Men's U21 U19 U17 Women's W U21 W U17
Switzerland	2006	Men's U21 U19 U17 Women's W U21 W U17
Ukraine	2008	Men's U21 U19 U17 Women's W U21 W U17
United States	1981	Men's U21 U19 U17 Women's W U21 W U17

Former Members

Some countries have been members of the FIB in the past but are no longer active.

• Soviet Union (1955–1991): The Soviet Union was one of the founding members. After it dissolved, Russia took its place.
• West Germany/Germany (1990–1991): There was a German bandy federation that was a member for a short time.
• Kyrgyzstan (2004-2018): Kyrgyzstan joined in 2004 and their team played in some international games. However, their federation stopped being active and was removed from the FIB list in 2018.

In early 2017, seven other national bandy federations were removed from the FIB member list. These countries had never sent a team to any international competition. They were removed because there wasn't enough interest in bandy in those countries.

Association	FIB affiliation	Note
Argentina	2008
Australia	2006
Denmark	2014
Ireland	2006
Italy	2003	Italy has since rejoined in 2024 with a new national federation.
Poland	2006
Serbia	2006

Asian Bandy Association

Some Asian countries that are part of the FIB have also created their own group called the Asian Bandy Association. This group helps organize bandy competitions at the Asian Winter Games. It also works to make bandy more popular in Asia.

Members of the Asian Bandy Association include:

•  China
•  Japan
•  Kazakhstan
•  Kyrgyzstan
•  Mongolia

Images for kids

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  A world map showing all the member countries before some inactive associations were removed from the FIB list in 2017.