European Floorball International League (EFIL) - New Competition Structure
While the IFF event structure announced in 2025 offers administrative efficiency, it presents three fundamental challenges that conflict with IFF's development goals:
Limited Competitive Opportunities
Lower-ranked teams, new members, and returning associations face four-year gaps between official events if they underperform, severely limiting their ability to develop competitive programs and retain player engagement.
Barriers to Upward Mobility
The top 12 teams maintain automatic qualification through a closed cycle, preventing talented emerging teams from accessing higher-level competition and creating a structural ceiling that discourages investment in development programs.
Hosting and Scalability Constraints
The European Challenge requires hosting 12+ teams, but most capable hosts are in the top 12 tier, creating a hosting bottleneck that may further restrict participation opportunities as membership grows.
Solution: This proposal introduces a European Nations League system that addresses these issues by providing regular competitive opportunities, merit-based promotion pathways, and smaller, more accessible hosting requirements.
System Comparison
Event Flow Comparison
Current System
New Proposal
Current System
Top 12 ranked teams go directly to European Floorball Championship (EFC)
Bottom 13 ranked teams play in European Challenge (EC) top 5 teams qualify to World Trophy
Top 11 ranked teams from EFC qualify to WFC and 12th place to World Trophy (WT)
Top 3 from World Trophy Qualify to World Floorball Championship (WFC)
New Proposal
Create European Floorball Ranking system (see section European Ranking System)
Establish a European Nations League (ENL) on a 2 year cycle where results affect ranking, participation in this league is optional for teams not aiming for the European Floorball Championship
Play European Challenge and Championship on same year
European Floorball Championship, European Floorball Challenge and World Trophy are the same other than change of time
Make European Challenge and Championship part of European ranking
Advantages and Disadvantages
Advantages
Current System
Streamlined IFF schedule that reduces administrative burden and allows more time for strategic priorities
More efficient schedule that minimizes time on event organization, enabling focus on other important work
Streamlined schedule that frees IFF resources for work beyond event management
New Proposal
Introduces transparent ranking system for qualifying in the European Championship, qualification is then based on recent merit rather than past success
Makes it theoretically possible for any team to climb up ranking ladder and playing tougher opponents based on their current skill level much faster
Creates smaller IFF events that are easier to host, giving member associations valuable experience that prepares them for hosting larger events.
Opens up for new members to prove themselves either in European Challenge or new league system
Disadvantages
Current System
Lower-ranked, new and returning member associations have limited opportunities, with official events occurring every 4 years if performance is poor in previous event.
Top 12 teams automatically qualify for European Championship through World Championship, creating a closed cycle that is tough to break.
Limited opportunities for lower-ranked European teams to face top 12 teams can negatively impact their long-term development and competitive progress.
As new members join, the European Challenge could potentially become too big for associations in that category to host, which might limit how many teams can participate which may result in even longer times between official events for new or returning members
Finding hosts for the European Challenge could be tricky since most potential hosts are in the top 12, and the event needs to handle 12 or more teams
New Proposal
More IFF events overall, more predefined events during International Weekend which may increase administrative workload and coordination requirements for IFF staff
Additional oversight and management needed for multiple smaller events throughout the cycle
Event Schedule Comparison
Current System
New Proposal
European Floorball Nations League
Event Schedule
Every two years, a round of games is played on any International weekend.
Exception on World Trophy year, teams participating in the World Trophy will not have a EFNL game that year instead the World trophy will act as a EFNL round.
Host Requirements
To register, teams must commit to hosting a four-team event (one training day and three competition games). This requirement solves the issue of finding hosts and ensures that all teams are committed to the event.
Guest Requirements
Members have to accept terms requirements towards Host organization (see section Guest requirements)
Group Formation
Registered members are divided into groups based on current European Floorball Ranking
Group setup
Groups of four are created as long as there are enough members, if a group becomes less than three one member from group above is moved to create two groups of three.
For example if there are:
8 Registered Members: 2 groups of 4
9 Registered Members: 3 groups of 3
10 Registered Members: 1 group of 4, 2 groups of 3
11 Registered Members: 2 groups of 4, 1 group of 3
12+ Registered Members: Multiple groups following the same pattern
Each round is considered a European Floorball Ranking round, for each group the first place team is promoted to the next league, and the last place team is demoted.
Example:
A team ranked 1-4 places last is now ranked 5
A team ranked 5-6 places first is now ranked 4
A team ranked 5-6 places last is now ranked 7
etc..
Points system/tie breakers for each round for each group will follow current rules used in WFCQ or may be looked into.
European Floorball Ranking
Ranking Events
European Floorball Nations League, European Floorball Championship, World Trophy and World Floorball Championship all affect the European ranking for all teams.
European Floorball Nations League Ranking
After promoting and demoting teams each team gets the rank according to the position they have in their group
European Floorball Championship and Challenge Ranking
European Floorball Championship: Ranking is based on result in competition, top team is ranked 1 and bottom team is ranked 12 in Europe.
European Floorball Challenge: Ranking is based on result in competition, top team is ranked 13 and bottom team is the minimum rank based on how many teams are in the competition.
World Trophy Ranking
Top team is promoted to the lowest team in their new league. Bottom team is demoted rank of the highest team in their new league.
World Floorball Championship Ranking
Ranking is based on result in competition, top team is ranked 1 and bottom team is ranked 12-15 in Europe depending on the number of European teams participating.
Ranking System Benefit:
Two paths for a team to advance to the European Floorball Championship, the EFC is no longer locked behind the World Floorball Championship
Ranking games are more frequent and reacts faster to a teams growth or decline, but not too fast
European Floorball Championship and Challenge Qualification
Qualification for the European Floorball Championship and European Challenge is based on the most recent ranking round.
Team 1-12: Qualifies directly to the European Championship
Team 13+: Qualifies directly to the European Challenge
New and returning members:
Ranked last when registering the competition (continuous participation is required to maintain your rank)
May sign up for the European Challenge given that hosts can handle the extra member, European Floorball league members have priority
Examples: Current vs New System
Low-Ranked Team
A low-ranked European team that underperforms in the European Challenge
Current System
2029
Participates in the European Challenge, placing 6th or lower
2033
Participates in the European Challenge, placing 6th or lower
Result: An underperforming low-ranked European team receives opportunities to compete in official IFF ranking events only every four years.
New System
2029
Participates in the European Floorball League against appropriate opponents, placing last
2030
Participates in the European Challenge against appropriate opponents, also gaining experience against tougher competition, placing last. Alternatively, the team may choose not to register for the European Challenge, determining that participation is not strategically beneficial given their priorities
2031
Participates in the European Floorball League against appropriate opponents, placing last. The organization and players gain valuable experience without waiting four years for the next competitive opportunity
Result: An underperforming low-ranked European team receives opportunities to compete in official IFF ranking events every two years minimum.
Fast-Growing Low-Ranked Team
A low-ranked European team experiencing a generational shift with highly motivated and talented players
Current System
2029
Participates in the European Challenge with a young team (ages 19-20), placing 6th or lower
2033
Participates in the European Challenge with an improved team, placing 1st-5th, assuming the four-year gap did not negatively impact team development
2035
Participates in the World Trophy, gaining significant experience but not qualifying for the World Floorball Championship
2037
Participates in the European Challenge with an improved team, placing 1st-5th
2039
Participates in the World Trophy, having developed sufficiently to qualify for the World Floorball Championship
2040
Participates in the World Floorball Championship, competing against top 12 nations for the first time and experiencing a significant competitive gap. The young talented players are now 30-31 years old
New System
2029
Participates in the European Floorball League against lower-ranked teams and advances to the next level
2030
Participates in the European Challenge, performing well and advancing further in the European Floorball League
2031
Participates in the European Floorball League, gaining additional experience against better teams and advancing another level
2033
Participates in the European Floorball League, competing against top 16 nations and advancing to the European Championship
2034
Participates in the European Championship, gaining experience against tougher opponents, performing relatively well but encountering a significant competitive gap against the top 10 teams. The young talented players are now 25-26 years old
Result: A team with a new generation of talent gains higher-level competitive experience six years earlier in the new system, increasing the chances of that generation achieving European or World Championship success during their playing careers.
Declining Association
A top-8 ranked European team with an aging roster and a declining or non-existent youth development program
Current System
2030
Participates in the European Championship, placing in the top 11 and qualifying directly for the World Floorball Championship
2032
Participates in the World Championship, with the aging roster maintaining a position within the top 12 European teams
2034
Participates in the European Championship, with the aging roster and limited emerging talent maintaining a position in the top 11
2036
Participates in the World Championship, with key veteran players having retired and the team primarily composed of young, inexperienced players, placing below the top 12 in Europe
2037
Participates in the European Challenge, with young players gaining experience playing against appropriate opponents for the first time in 7 years
New System
2030
Participates in the European Championship, placing in the top 11 and qualifying directly for the World Floorball Championship
2031
Participates in the European Floorball League, with the aging roster showing signs of instability and being relegated to the lower league (positions 13-16), facing the risk of not directly qualifying for the European Championship
2032
Participates in the World Championship, with the aging roster maintaining a position within the top 12 European teams
2033
Participates in the European Floorball League, with the aging roster and young inexperienced players failing to qualify for the European Championship and dropping to the 17-20 league
2034
Participates in the European Challenge, with young inexperienced players competing against appropriate opponents, reaching the appropriate competitive level after four years
Result: The new system places teams at an appropriate competitive level faster based on their team's performance.
Top-Four Nation with Adverse Circumstances
A top-four ranked European nation experiencing significant adverse circumstances
Current System
2030
Participates in the European Championship, with the team facing widespread illness or injury affecting key players, placing 12th
2031
Participates in the World Trophy, with the team again facing widespread illness or injury, placing last among European teams
2033
Participates in the European Challenge, with the team fully healthy, securing first place decisively and demonstrating clear competitive superiority
2035
Participates in the World Trophy, with the team fully healthy, qualifying for the World Floorball Championship
2036
Participates in the World Championship and becomes World Champion
New System
2030
Participates in the European Championship, with the team facing widespread illness or injury affecting key players, placing 12th and dropping to Group C in the European Floorball League
2031
Participates in the World Trophy, with the team facing widespread illness or injury, placing last among European teams
2032
Participates in the European Floorball League, with the team fully healthy, being promoted back to Group C and advancing to the European Championship
2034
Participates in the European Championship and becomes European Champion, returning to expected competitive level
Result: In this scenario, when an established team experiences a temporary decline, recovery is two years faster in the proposed system, preventing potential title losses for teams that demonstrate the decline was due to exceptional adverse circumstances rather than a fundamental competitive shift.
IFF organization timeline
A potential timeline given the suggestions in previous sections are implemented.
IMAGE SUGGESTION: IFF Organization Timeline
Show a timeline/Gantt chart:
• Implementation phases
• Key milestones (observer training, host requirements, etc.)
• Event scheduling over multiple years
• Dependencies between different initiatives
• Use visual timeline format
Summary
Write a summary of all contents found in the main markdown file and final thoughts
