On February 12, 1955 the International Bandy Federation was formed in connection with the first congress in Stockholm, Sweden. The founders were the four nations Sweden, Norway, USSR and Finland.
The name was “International Bandy Federation” until the 2001 congress in Budapest, Hungary. Then the name was changed to Federation of International Bandy – FIB. The acronym IBF was already occupied.
The international bandy has developed a lot during these 66 years. The number of national member federations is currently 27 and is constantly increasing. Of course, this has also meant that the number of international tournaments has increased. Now the World Championships are played for both men and women and in the same way the World Cup for club teams. In addition, there are also various World Championships for younger players and also for veterans.
The very first World Championship was played in 1957 at the Olympic Stadium in Helsinki, Finland. Participating nations were Finland, the USSR and Sweden. The USSR became the very first nation to win the tournament. Finland was second and Sweden third.
President Boris Skrynnik
-I would like to take this opportunity to thank all our national member federations and all the people who work for the sport of bandy for their important and passionate work. They have developed the sport to become the second largest winter sport in terms of the number of practitioners, says FIB President Boris Skrynnik on FIB birthday.
General Secretary is Bo Nyman:
–I am proud of the development that bandy has had in all member countries and I also want to take the opportunity to thank all co-workers who do a great job within FIB, says Bo Nyman.
Of course, the last year has not been like the others when no World Championship tournaments for the best teams could be played. But this coming autumn, the World Championship for men will resume when the A-tournament is played in Irkutsk, Russia.