Floorball is played indoors by two teams, each with five players and one goalkeeper. The sport is played with plastic sticks and a very light plastic ball with holes. The rink is 40 x 20 m, and the main objective is to score more goals than the opposing team. The rink has markings of two goalkeeper areas, the centreline, the centre spot, and six face-off dots. Each game is played in 20-minute periods with a 10-minute intermission. During these periods, the time can be stopped in situations where there is a penalty, time-out, goal or an injury. Teams can substitute players or the whole team at any time during the game. Even though floorball is very similar to hockey, checking and strong physical contact are not allowed. This sport has a great similarity to soccer in that sense. Also, the goalkeeper does not have a stick and therefore the goal is defended by use of the hands or body. As much as the physical requirements for floorball players are not that specific, the sport has evolved in a way that modern players need to be more athletic, have more speed, elasticity, stick handling skills, and incredible eye-hand coordination. A very important fact about floorball is that there is great participation of both genders in all competitions, making it an exceptionally equal sport.  

Floorball was developed in Sweden in the late 1960s, but it was not until the 70s and 80s that the sport was really established as we know it today. In the beginning, floorball was played as a recreational activity in schools and playgrounds, but it developed into a more competitive and organized sport in Sweden and the rest of the Nordic countries. The 1980s was a decade of immense growth and popularity and it is in this period when clubs, rules, and competitions began to form. In 1986 the International Floorball Federation (IFF) was founded by the Swedish, Finnish and Swiss Floorball Associations. The IFF aimed to organize, coach, referee, and develop floorball as a sport. The first European Floorball Championship was held in 1994 and the first World Championship in 1996. By this time, the sport was recognized in more than 14 countries.