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IKF World Korfball Awards 2021 – call for nominations

Following a suggestion made by Korfball Sri Lanka in 2019, the IKF EXCO decided to start highlighting excellence in korfball by awarding IKF World Korfball Awards. The IKF would like to ask all interested parties (organisations and individuals)  to nominate candidates for the 2021 edition of these awards, which will be awarded during the IKF General Meeting 2021. Only IKF National Federations can receive an award.

Organisational achievements, projects, and events nominated for the IKF World Korfball Awards 2021 should have taken place within the period of August 2019 and August 2021.

The IKF encourages all to send in nominations for the following categories:

  1. Best Grassroots Development

The World Korfball Award for Best Grassroots Development focuses on a project or a series of projects that has resulted in a great development of grassroots korfball participation, which can be seen by the increase of korfball activities and participation in the targeted country or region.

C, D and E countries are especially encouraged to nominate, but this category is open for A and B countries too.

  1. Excellence in Governance

The Word Korfball Award for Excellence in Governance focuses on clear leadership structure, good governance, good communication and cooperation with the IKF, and a well-hosted event. The award may also be granted to a National Federation that has had a major achievement.

  1. Best Event

The World Korfball Award for Best Event is for events that stood out, taking into account the quality of the venues, accommodations, overall experience for the teams and officials, marketing/communication, experience as a spectator/fan, side activities, innovation, and legacy.

  1. Innovation

The World Korfball Award for Innovation is for any projects, initiative,s or action that is not covered by the other categories and is innovative to the sport. The nominated subject should be quite unique and unusual and can cover any area relevant to the sport.

The IKF asks to submit nominations for the IKF World Korfball Awards to the IKF Office before 16 September, using this nomination form.

IKF World Korfball Congress and IKF General Meeting 2021

The IKF World Korfball Congress and IKF General Meeting 2021 will be be organised from 28-30 October in Antwerp (Belgium), during the IKF European Korfball Championship A-Division. Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and the related travel restrictions, the Congress and AGM will be organised in a hybrid format. Online attendance options will be made available for those unable to travel to Antwerp. All invitees are required to register upfront.

This year’s Congress is named ‘Reinventing korfball; unite for the future’. There will be particular emphasis on the development of korfball along three dimensions:

– IKF & National Federations; a joint path towards the future;

– Learning Management Platform; needs & experiences;

– Korfball4; moving closer to the Olympics.

The general program is as follows:

– Thursday 28 October 13:00 – 17:00 hrs CET: IKF World Korfball Congress

– Friday 29 October      09:00 – 13:00 hrs CET: IKF World Korfball Congress

– Saturday 30 October  09:00 – 12:00 hrs CET: IKF General Meeting

Both the Congress and the General Meeting will take place in Boeckenberg Sport and Business, Grensstraat 9, 2100 Antwerp.

 

Updates IKF Events 2021

The developments of the corona pandemic continue to influence the IKF Competition Calendar. All updates about the IKF events of 2021 can be found on this page, which will be updated regularly.

IKF U21 Korfball World Cup (24-26 September, Czech Republic)

The IKF has decided, in coordination with the participants, to relocate the IKF U21 Korfball World Cup 2022. The strict corona regulations and the related high organisational costs in France make it impossible for this event to continue in France as planned. The participants indicated that they would very much appreciate the IKF U21 KWC 2021 to take place, and the Czech Korfball Association has offered to organise the event from 24 – 26 September in Zruč nad Sázavou. The IKF is grateful for this offer and has full confidence that the Czech Korfball Association is capable of organising a great event in the short time left. The IKF is preparing the final versions of the IKF COVID-19 protocol and IKF COVID-19 Event Rules, of which a provisional edition has been discussed with the participants.

The IKF would like to thank Fédération Korfbal France for all their efforts to host this event.

IKF World Beach Korfball Championship 2021 (10-11 September, Morocco)

The current situation in Morocco makes it impossible to allow progress with tournament preparations, and time effectively ran out before a firm decision needed to be made. Therefore, the LOC and IKF have taken the joint decision to postpone the event until 2022. The main issue in Morocco at this time is that the country is still in a state of emergency, and it is not known when this will be released and borders will (fully) open up. It is also unclear if Morocco will allow flights from all continents and to what extent such tickets would be affordable for all subscribed teams. Taken together, this brings too much risk for both the participants and the Local Organisers and therefore the difficult decision to postpone the WBKC has been made. More information about the rescheduling of this event for next year will follow later this year.

IKF European Korfball Championship B-Division (4-9 October, Poland) &

IKF European Korfball Championship A-Division (25-30 October, Belgium)

The outlook for the two European Korfball Championships is currently positive. The situation in Poland and Belgium is getting better and better, and with more and more people vaccinated in Europe, the IKF and the two Local Organisers are confident that the events can take place as planned. The IKF is in contact with the IKF Medical Committee and Local Organisers of the EKCs to prepare a Covid-19 protocol. New update meeting with the participants of both events are planned in August, to make a final decision about the continuation of the event.

The IKF would like to express its gratitude to the different host countries for their collaboration and efforts in the preparation of the cancelled or postponed events.

IKF and MIKASA renew sponsor partnership

The International Korfball Federation (IKF) and Mikasa Corporation are delighted to announce the renewal of their long-lasting partnership. A relationship that already exceeds two decades.

IKF and MIKASA have collaborated in the development of korfball, in particular with a continued development by MIKASA in match balls of the highest quality, and a distribution structure that provides increasing global access.

An important part of the agreement is that the MIKASA K5 shall remain the IKF’s official ball. This means that the MIKASA K5 will continue to retain its exclusive status at all IKF events and IKF development activities. The extensive positive experiences of athletes worldwide with the MIKASA K5, both at elite and at grassroots levels, has played an important role for the IKF in extending the partnership.

Mr Jan Fransoo, IKF president is extremely happy with the new agreement: “We value the long-term relationship with a quality brand like MIKASA. The excellent characteristics of the K5 ball and the support of many years provided by MIKASA to the IKF events and development activities provide us with confidence of further growth in the years to come. We would like to thank Mr Saeki for the confidence placed in the IKF with the extension of our partnership.”

Mr Yuji Saeki, President and CEO of Mikasa Corporation comments: “Mikasa Corporation is extremely honoured with the extension of our partnership with IKF and with the opportunity to contribute to their korfball events as well as the long-term growth of korfball in the world.”

The IKF is looking forward to further collaboration with MIKASA for many more years to come!

* Mikasa Corporation is a Japanese sports equipment and athletic goods company that is specialised in equipment for ball games. The balls manufactured by MIKASA for sports football, korfball, basketball, volleyball, waterpolo and handball are often used for official matches, games and competitions. https://mikasasports.co.jp/e/company/

IKF Korfball Instruction Videos

The IKF and its Erasmus+ 2020 partners are proud to announce that the handbooks of the IKF Level I and Level II Coach Courses have been finalised. The IKF Korfball Instruction Videos are an important part of these handbooks, and they are now free to watch, share and use for all korfball coaches and players around the world.

The videos highlight key korfball actions and strategies and provide information about the related focus points. The videos have been produced with the help of korfball club PKC, Team NL, commentator Tom Brady and Grinta Media.

The Erasmus+ project was a collaboration between IKF, KNKV, SWISS Korfball, Marmara University, All-Ukrainian Korfball Federation and Polish Korfball Association. The IKF is grateful for the continuous efforts put in by all partners throughout the year. Despite the cancellation of many planned activities and meetings due to the pandemic, all partners fulfilled their task with great energy and dedication. This has resulted in handbooks and video material that can be used by the global korfball community in the years to come.

The IKF Korfball Instruction Videos (click on title to go to YouTube):
*Subtitles available in English, French and Polish. 

Running in shot 

Long Distance Shot 

Short Distance Shot

One Handed Pass 

Two-Handed Pass 

Assist 

Penalty 

Free Pass 

Rebound 

1-1 Defence

Front Defence

Front Defence in matches

Rebound Defence 

Rebound Defence in matches 

Pressuring the pass 

Attack Pattern 2-2

Attack Pattern 2-2 in matches 

Attack Pattern 2-2 mixes in matches

Attack Pattern 3-1  

Attack Pattern 3-1 in matches 

Attack Pattern 4-0

Morocco to host first World Beach Korfball Championship 2021

Tournament update (07/04/2021) – The IKF World Beach Korfball Championship 2021, scheduled from 30 – 31 July has been postponed. The current corona situation is too unclear to continue with the preparations for the event in July. The IKF EXCO has set the new dates of this event on 10 – 11 September 2021. The location will remain Nador, Morocco. The IKF EXCO is grateful for the flexibility of the host, the Association Marocaine de Korfball, and hopes to welcome all teams on the beautiful beaches of Nador in September. A final decision on the event will be taken in the first week of June.


The IKF is extremely happy to announce that the first ‘IKF World Beach Korfball Championship’ will be held this summer in Nador, Morocco. The event will take place on 30th and 31st July 2021, pending a controlled Corona-19 situation. Subscription is open to all countries around the world.

The successful continental Beach World Cup events in Europe and Asia over the last few years have demonstrated that there is a real appetite amongst the nations for Beach Korfball. The IKF is now delighted to extend the format to the global stage by organising a World Championship for the first time. In a close bidding race with the Royal Dutch Korfball Association (KNKV), who as always presented a very tempting bid, the IKF Council decided to grant this prestigious event to the Moroccan Association for Korfball (MAK).

Jan Fransoo (IKF President): “As well as the beautiful Summer weather, the excellent facilities, and professional organisation, the positive impact that our mixed-gender sport has in Moroccan society has been particularly key in our decision to award the organisation of the first World Beach Korfball Championship to the city of Nador in Morocco. We are looking forward to working closely with the organisers in making this a great event with a positive impact.”

The award of this event comes months after an agreement that the Moroccan Association for Korfball and the Mediterranean Youth Association have made with the Ministry of National Education to develop korfball in schools. Younes Cherfaoui (MAK president): “We are very proud to be able to organise the IKF World Beach Korfball Championship and to present the beautiful city of Nador to the korfball world. The event comes at the perfect moment to showcase korfball and really use it as an accelerator for the further development of korfball within Morocco.”

 

IKF European Korfball Tour – update November

It is with great regret that the IKF EXCO has decided to cancel the IKF European Korfball Tour (EKT) Finals 2021 in February. This following the earlier decision to cancel the IKF EKT Challenger planned for January 2021.

In close alignment with the appointed host of the event, the Royal Dutch Korfball Association (KNKV), the IKF has come to the conclusion that it is no longer sensible to continue with the preparations for the IKF EKT-Finals 2021 in The Netherlands. Looking at the current corona situation within Europe and the expectations for the months to come, it is not realistic to believe that things will improve in such a way that it is possible to successfully and safely organise the event in February.

The IKF likes to express it’s gratitude towards the KNKV for their collaboration and efforts over the last months to properly prepare the EKT-Finals in The Netherlands.

Despite of this unfortunate announcement the IKF has good hope that during the year of 2021 things will normalise and European club competitions can and will take place in 2022. You can expect more information about the European club competitions for 2021 in the first quarter of the next year.

Digitalised IKF Korfball International Magazines

Up until 2011, the IKF published the magazine Korfball International. Due to the digitalisation of the data and communication on the IKF websites, the magazine was discontinued. However, these magazines hold a lot of information and therefore have a big historical value. To safeguard this value and to make the magazines accessible for everyone, the IKF has digitalised all Korfball International editions. The digitalised magazines offer interesting information about past events, players, officials and organisational news. Furthermore, every edition includes a lot of pictures, which allows all readers to look back at korfball in the old days.

The digitalised editions are freely accessible in the Documents section on the IKF website. Go to IKF Digital Magazine Archive and have a look!

The Korfball Internationals of 1981 up until 1987 will be uploaded soon.

IKF European Korfball Tour 2021 – update October

The IKF EXCO has decided to cancel the IKF European Korfball Tour Challenger(s) in January 2021. This decision has been taken following the current negative developments regarding the spread of the coronavirus in Europe. With the number of infections increasing and new restrictions imposed by national governments all over Europe, there is too much doubt to continue with the preparations for the EKT-Challengers.

The IKF would like to express its gratitude towards the Polish Korfball Association (PKA) for all the efforts over the last months to prepare the EKT-Challenger in Poland.

The IKF EXCO keeps the option open to hold the IKF EKT-Finals in February in The Netherlands. The developments of the corona pandemic will be monitored closely over the coming weeks and a final decision regarding the continuation of the EKT-Finals will be made ultimately the 1st of December.

Since the EKT-Challengers are cancelled, the two teams that would qualify through these events now need to be appointed. The IKF Competition Committee will discuss this situation in the coming weeks and will decide upon the criteria to appoint the two remaining teams.

IKF European Korfball Tour 2021 – update and draw

Update IKF European Korfball Tour 2021

The preparations for the experimental IKF European Korfball Tour (EKT) 2021, planned to take place in January and February, are moving forward. Due to the Coronavirus pandemic uncertainties will remain for the next months, but at this moment the IKF has good hope that the event can take place as scheduled. A next official evaluation of the situation is scheduled for the middle of October.

 

EKT-Challengers:

At this moment the host of one of the two EKT-Challengers is confirmed. An agreement has been made with the Polish Korfball Association (PKA) to organise one of the EKT-Challengers, to be held from 7-9 January 2021 in Kiełczowie (Wroclaw area).

A second host for the EKT-Challenger has not yet been found. Currently, there is one final option the IKF is investigating. Ultimately in the second week of October, it will become clear if there will be a second host for the EKT-Challengers or not.

In the case that no second host is found, the IKF European Korfball Tour will continue with the organisation of one EKT-Challenger only. In this scenario the match schedule of the tournament will be adjusted in line with the final number of participants. The two best teams of the EKT-Challenger in Poland will then qualify for the EKT-Finals in The Netherlands.

 

EKT-Finals:

The six teams that are directly qualified for the EKT-Finals from 11-13 February 2021 all have confirmed their participation. The other two teams that will complete the tournament will qualify through the EKT-Challenger(s).

As announced earlier the EKT-Finals has no group stage and proceeds directly to the elimination stage with the quarter finals on Thursday, the semi-finals on Friday and the finals on Saturday. The teams that are eliminated in the quarter finals will play for the positions 5-8 in a parallel elimination format.

The match-up of the quarter final matches are decided upon by an open draw. Hence, any type of seeding would require to explicitly rank countries and teams without any precedent.

Since the host country of the tournament has indicated that the outcome of the draw of the EKT-Finals could affect the way of hosting the tournament, with one or two playing locations in The Netherlands, the draw has already been executed. This gives the host country the time to properly prepare the tournament. As can be seen, the two Challenger positions have been part of the draw. After finalising the EKT-Challenger(s) it will be decided where both teams end up in the match schedule, by conducting a second draw.

Underneath you find the draw of the European Korfball Tour Finals. More detailed information will follow in a later stage.

 

Day 1
Thursday 11-02-2021
A KC Floriant (BEL) PKC/Vertom (NED)
B NC Benfica (POR) Challenger
C KV Adler Rauxel e.V. (GER) Boeckenberg KC (BEL)
D Challenger TOP Sassenheim (NED)
Day 2
Friday 12-02-2021
E loser A loser B
F winner A winner B
G loser C loser D
H winner C  winner D
Day 3 
Saturday 13-02-2021
loser E loser G
winner E winner G
loser F loser H
winner F winner H

A new update about the European Korfball Tour is planned for the end of October or beginning of November, after the official evaluation moment that has been scheduled.