What is korfball?

Korfball is a sport that originates from the Netherlands. Nowadays, it is officially played in 66 countries, and most well-known in Belgium, Hungary, China and, evidently, the Netherlands, even though it is also played in other countries like Spain, India and the UK, where it is less famous. What’s best about korfball is that it is the world's only true mixed gender team sport with the rules laid down so that both men and women have equal opportunities.

IKF members

Korfball promotional video

It's played in two teams of 8 players (4 men and 4 women) in a 20x40m pitch divided into two halves. Players can only defend players of the same sex, but each player can only defend one player from the other team. making korfball a very strategical and interesting game. There is a korf (Dutch word for basket) on each side and each team has to score in one of these korfs by passing the ball around with their hands and shooting. Each team of 8 players is divided into two groups of 4 players each (2 men and 2 women), on each half of the pitch. One group of 4 attacks on one side, while the other one defends on the other side. As both sexes play together on completely even terms, the game is structured with many advantages of height, speed or strength that would otherwise make mixed team sports impossible to achieve with equality.

Korfball is a unique sport which provides you with the opportunity to both compete and develop physically to get fit as well as to enter into a huge bubble of an exclusive social environment. Korfball creates intense emotions for both participants and spectators, and the fact that we unite all together with team mates of both sexes adds an extra dimension that no other sport can offer. Korfball is based on cooperation between players as we have to keep passing the ball at an extremely fast motion and players must move very quickly to be able to reach the goal of the game. Originally played outdoors on grass, korfball is now played on many other surfaces such as hard-court, artificial grass and even on the beach. 

The International Korfball Federation (IKF) now numbers about 61 member countries, on five continents, and is active in introducing korfball into new countries at every opportunity. Its main goal is to create stable local administrations, thus enabling the sustainable development of korfball in each country. Korfball must be played officially in 75 countries in order for it to be considered an Olympic sport and therefore take part in the Olympic Games.

14 more countries to go !!