2010 Men's World Floorball Championships Qualifying

The 2010 Men's World Floorball Championships Qualifying Rounds were the first such qualifiers for world championships in men's floorball. Four separate qualifying tournaments were played, with European qualifications between the dates of February 3 to February 6, 2010 in the cities of Babimost and Zbąszyń in Poland, as well as in the city of San Lorenzo de El Escorial in Spain.

The 2010 Men's Asia Pacific Floorball Championships served as the qualifying tournament for countries in the Asian/Oceanian region. The tournament was overseen by the Asia Oceania Floorball Confederation (AOFC), and was played in Woodlands, Singapore. It was played between February 3 to February 7, 2010.

North American qualification matches between Canada and the United States were played in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada from February 5 to February 6, 2010.

These were the first world championships under the IFF's new FIFA-like continental qualification system. A total of 32 countries registered for this event, which is the most nations to ever register for an IFF-sanctioned world championship event. The previous record was 29 for the 2008 Men's World Floorball Championships.

Contents

Qualification Process

Under the IFF's new qualification system, the 32 countries registered for the world championships needed to qualify for only 16 spots. 8 of these spots were already pre-determined, with the top 7 teams from the 2008 Men's World Floorball Championships A-Division and the top team from the B-Division automatically qualifying. This left just 8 spots for the other 24 registered countries.[1]

Depending on the number of countries registered per continental region, that many slots were given at the world championships.

The countries already qualified are as follows:

 Czech Republic  Finland  Germany  Latvia
 Norway  Russia  Sweden  Switzerland

Asian & Oceanian Process

Main article: 2010 Men's Asia Pacific Floorball Championships

Qualifying in the Asia/Oceanian region for the world championships was overseen by the Asia Oceania Floorball Confederation (AOFC).

Only 3 out of 5 registered AOFC countries will qualify. The 5 countries are as follows:

 Australia                Singapore           
 Japan Korea
 Malaysia

European Process

Only 4 out of 16 countries registered in Europe qualified. The 16 countries are as follows:

 Austria  Belgium  Denmark  Estonia
 France  Georgia  Great Britain  Hungary
 Italy  Liechtenstein  Netherlands  Poland
 Serbia  Slovakia  Slovenia  Spain

North American Process

Only 1 out of 2 countries registered in North America qualified. The 2 countries are as follows:

 Canada  United States

Groups

Ballots for the groups in this event were drawn on May 9, 2009 during one of the semi-final matches of the 2009 Men's under-19 World Floorball Championships in Turku, Finland.[2]

In the way the ballots were drawn, no team qualifying from the AOFC will play against each other in group stage matches, and no team qualifying from Europe will either.

The groups will be assembled based on qualifying as follows:

Group A Group B Group C Group D
 Finland  Latvia  Germany  Czech Republic
 Russia  Switzerland  Sweden  Norway
North America AOFC 1 AOFC 3 AOFC 2
West Europe 1 West Europe 2 East Europe 2 East Europe 1

Final Groups

Group A Group B Group C Group D
 Finland  Latvia  Germany  Czech Republic
 Russia  Switzerland  Sweden  Norway
 Canada AOFC 1 AOFC 3 AOFC 2
 Denmark  Poland  Estonia  Italy

Withdrawals

India

India withdrew from world championships due to financial difficulties on January 21, almost 2 weeks before the tournament began. In turn, the AOFC and IFF were forced to make changes to the schedule to accompany the other teams.[3]

Georgia

Although Georgia never withdrew from the world championships, they were not able to show up to their first match against Slovakia, resulting in an automatic walkover win of 5:0. This was due to flight problems caused by inclement weather.[4]

Tiebreaking Criteria

For the three game group stage of this tournament, where two or more teams in a group tied on an equal number of points, the finishing positions are determined by the record of the tied teams in the games they played against each other in the first instance, then the goals scored and goal difference in all group matches. There is a facility for positions to be determined by a drawing of lots should 2 (or more) team records be identical and their match was a draw against each other.

A win is worth 2 points, a draw is worth 1 point, and a loss is worth 0 points. No sudden victory overtime or penalty shootout will be played in the preliminary round, as matches ending in draws at the end of regulation will award both teams with a single point. Matches which are draws at the end of the playoff round will, however, continue with a sudden victory overtime period and a possible penalty shootout.

European Qualifying (Poland)

2010 Men's World
Floorball Championships
European Qualifications (Poland)
Tournament details
Host country  Poland
Dates February 3 to February 6, 2010
Teams 8
Venue(s) 2 (in 2 host cities)
Final positions
Champions  Denmark
 Poland
Tournament statistics
Matches played 16
Goals scored 164 (10.25 per match)
Infobox last updated on: 00:16, 7 February 2010 (UTC).

The European Qualifying tournament in Poland determined which 2 teams received a spot in the 2010 World Championships. For this qualifying tournament, the winning teams received a spot in Group A (West Europe 1) or Group B (West Europe 2), depending on their position in preliminary stage play.

Teams in this qualification tournament represented Western Europe, as the IFF used the same criteria they use for EuroFloorball Cup qualifications in order to determine groups.

Preliminary Round

Group A

All matches in Group A in the preliminary round were played in Zbąszyń, Poland.

Team MP W D L GF GA GD PTS
 Denmark 3 2 1 0 42 8 +34 5
 Poland 3 2 1 0 25 5 +20 5
 Belgium 3 1 0 2 10 29 -19 2
 Great Britain 3 0 0 3 4 39 -35 0
February 3, 2010
February 3, 2010
16.00		  Great Britain 2:5
( 1:2, 0:1, 1:2 )		  Belgium Zbąszyń, Poland
February 3, 2010
19.00		  Denmark 3:3
( 1:1, 1:0, 1:2 )		  Poland Zbąszyń, Poland
February 4, 2010
February 4, 2010
16.00		  Denmark 22:2
( 9:2, 6:0, 7:0 )		  Great Britain Zbąszyń, Poland
February 4, 2010
19.00		  Poland 10:2
( 1:2, 5:0, 4:0 )		  Belgium Zbąszyń, Poland
February 5, 2010
February 5, 2010
16.00		  Belgium 3:17
( 1:5, 1:6, 1:6 )		  Denmark Zbąszyń, Poland
February 5, 2010
19.00		  Poland 12:0
( 5:0, 3:0, 4:0 )		  Great Britain Zbąszyń, Poland

Group B

All matches in Group B in the preliminary round were played in Babimost, Poland.

Team MP W D L GF GA GD PTS
 France 3 2 1 0 17 10 +7 5
 Hungary 3 2 0 1 11 8 +3 4
 Austria 3 1 1 1 12 10 +2 3
 Serbia 3 0 0 3 7 19 -12 0
February 3, 2010
February 3, 2010
16.00		  Hungary 2:3
( 2:0, 0:2, 0:1 )		  France Babimost, Poland
February 3, 2010
19.00		  Austria 5:1
( 1:0, 2:1, 2:0 )		  Serbia Babimost, Poland
February 4, 2010
February 4, 2010
16.00		  Austria 1:3
( 0:1, 0:2, 1:0 )		  Hungary Babimost, Poland
February 4, 2010
19.00		  Serbia 2:8
( 1:1, 0:4, 1:3 )		  France Babimost, Poland
February 5, 2010
February 5, 2010
16.00		  Serbia 4:6
( 2:3, 1:1, 1:2 )		  Hungary Babimost, Poland
February 5, 2010
19.00		  France 6:6
( 0:1, 3:2, 3:3 )		  Austria Babimost, Poland

Playoff Round

At this stage in the tournament, there was no playoff bracket. Instead, the first placed team from group A faced the second placed team from group B, and vice versa. The winners of these two matches qualified for the 2010 World Championships. These matches were played in Babimost, Poland.

West Europe 1 Final

February 6, 2010
11.00		  Denmark 9:2
( 4:1, 2:1, 3:0 )		  Hungary Babimost, Poland

West Europe 2 Final

February 6, 2010
14.00		  France 2:4
( 1:0, 1:2, 0:2 )		  Poland Babimost, Poland

Placement Matches

At this stage in the competition, third placed teams from both groups played against each other, as well as the fourth placed teams, to determine world rankings as they did not qualify for the world championships. These matches were played in Zbąszyń, Poland.

Seventh Place Match

February 6, 2010
10.00		  Serbia 5:4
( 2:0, 0:2, 3:2 )		  Great Britain Zbąszyń, Poland

Fifth Place Match

February 6, 2010
13.00		  Belgium 4:6
( 2:2, 2:2, 0:2 )		  Austria Zbąszyń, Poland

European Qualifying (Spain)

2010 Men's World
Floorball Championships
European Qualifications (Spain)
Tournament details
Host country  Spain
Dates February 3 to February 6, 2010
Teams 8
Venue(s) 1 (in 1 host city)
Tournament statistics
Matches played 16
Goals scored 0 (0 per match)
Scoring leader(s) TBD
MVP TBA
Infobox last updated on: 22:18, July 28, 2009 (UTC).

The European Qualifying tournament in Spain determined which 2 teams received a spot in the 2010 World Championships. For this qualifying tournament, the winning teams received a spot in Group C (East Europe 1) or Group D (East Europe 2), depending on their position in preliminary stage play.

Teams in this qualification tournament represented Eastern Europe, as the IFF used the same criteria they use for EuroFloorball Cup qualifications in order to determine groups.

All matches in the preliminary round, playoffs, and placement rounds were played in San Lorenzo de El Escorial, Spain.

Preliminary Round

Group C

Team MP W D L GF GA GD PTS
 Italy 3 2 1 0 30 5 +25 5
 Slovakia 3 2 1 0 24 3 +21 5
 Netherlands 3 1 0 2 11 24 -13 2
 Georgia 3 0 0 3 1 34 -33 0
February 3, 2010
February 3, 2010
11.00		  Italy 7:2
( 3:0, 3:1, 1:1 )		  Netherlands San Lorenzo de El Escorial, Spain
February 3, 2010
16.30		  Slovakia 5:0 (W.O.)
( 0:0, 0:0, 0:0 )		  Georgia San Lorenzo de El Escorial, Spain

*Note: Slovakia was awarded a 5:0 walkover win over Georgia.

February 4, 2010
February 4, 2010
11.00		  Netherlands 9:1
( 4:1, 5:0, 0:0 )		  Georgia San Lorenzo de El Escorial, Spain
February 4, 2010
16.30		  Italy 3:3
( 2:1, 1:1, 0:1 )		  Slovakia San Lorenzo de El Escorial, Spain
February 5, 2010
February 5, 2010
11.00		  Georgia 0:20
( 0:3, 0:10, 0:7 )		  Italy San Lorenzo de El Escorial, Spain
February 5, 2010
16.30		  Netherlands 0:16
( 0:4, 0:3, 0:9 )		  Slovakia San Lorenzo de El Escorial, Spain

Group D

Team MP W D L GF GA GD PTS
 Estonia 3 3 0 0 33 0 +33 6
 Spain 3 2 0 1 7 12 -5 4
 Slovenia 3 1 0 2 8 14 -6 2
 Liechtenstein 3 0 0 3 0 22 -22 0
February 3, 2010
February 3, 2010
13.45		  Estonia 13:0
( 1:0, 8:0, 4:0 )		  Liechtenstein San Lorenzo de El Escorial, Spain
February 3, 2010
19.30		  Slovenia 2:4
( 1:2, 0:1, 1:1 )		  Spain San Lorenzo de El Escorial, Spain
February 4, 2010
February 4, 2010
13.45		  Estonia 10:0
( 4:0, 3:0, 3:0 )		  Slovenia San Lorenzo de El Escorial, Spain
February 4, 2010
19.15		  Liechtenstein 0:3
( 0:1, 0:2, 0:0 )		  Spain San Lorenzo de El Escorial, Spain
February 5, 2010
February 5, 2010
13.45		  Liechtenstein 0:6
( 0:3, 0:3, 0:0 )		  Slovenia San Lorenzo de El Escorial, Spain
February 5, 2010
19.15		  Spain 0:10
( 0:3, 0:2, 0:5 )		  Estonia San Lorenzo de El Escorial, Spain

Playoff Round

At this stage in the tournament, there was no playoff bracket. Instead, the first placed team from group C faced the second placed team from group D, and vice versa. The winners of these two matches qualified for the 2010 World Championships.

East Europe 1 Final

February 6, 2010
19.00		  Italy 4:2
( 1:1, 0:0, 3:1 )		  Spain San Lorenzo de El Escorial, Spain

East Europe 2 Final

February 6, 2010
16.00		  Estonia 8:4
( 1:0, 2:1, 5:3 )		  Slovakia San Lorenzo de El Escorial, Spain

Placement Matches

At this stage in the competition, third placed teams from both groups played against each other, as well as the fourth placed teams, to determine world rankings as they did not qualify for the world championships.

Seventh Place Match

February 6, 2010
10.00		  Liechtenstein 5:1
( 0:0, 2:1, 3:0 )		  Georgia San Lorenzo de El Escorial, Spain

Fifth Place Match

February 6, 2010
13.00		  Netherlands 2:3
( 1:0, 1:1, 0:2 )		  Slovenia San Lorenzo de El Escorial, Spain

Asian/Oceanian Qualifying

Main article: 2010 Men's Asia Pacific Floorball Championships
2010 Men's World
Floorball Championships
Asian/Oceanian Qualifying
Tournament details
Host country  Singapore
Dates February 3 to February 7, 2010
Teams 5
Venue(s) 1 (in 1 host city)
Tournament statistics
Matches played 10
Goals scored 68 (6.8 per match)
Scoring leader(s) TBD
MVP TBA
Infobox last updated on: 07:52, 6 February 2010 (UTC).

The Asian/Oceanian Qualifying tournament in Singapore determined which 3 teams received a spot in the 2010 World Championships. For this qualifying tournament, a winning team received a spot in Group B (AOFC 1), Group C (AOFC 3), or Group D (AOFC 2), depending on their position in preliminary stage play.

Teams in this qualification tournament represented the Asia Oceania Floorball Confederation (AOFC). This tournament was also known as the 2010 Men's Asia Pacific Floorball Championships.

There was only a preliminary round in this tournament, and the top 3 teams at the end of the round qualified for the 2010 World Championships. No placement matches were played.

Originally scheduled to play in the tournament, India withdrew due to financial difficulties.

All matches were played in Woodlands, Singapore.

Group E

Team MP W D L GF GA GD PTS
 Singapore 4 3 1 0 45 9 +36 7
 Japan 4 3 1 0 25 9 +16 7
 Australia 4 1 1 2 19 17 +2 3
Korea 4 1 1 2 19 21 -2 3
 Malaysia 4 0 0 4 4 56 -52 0

February 3, 2010

February 3, 2010
16.00		  Japan 6:2
( 2:0, 3:1, 1:1 )		  Australia Woodlands, Singapore
February 3, 2010
19.00		 Korea 2:10
( 1:3, 0:4, 1:3 )		  Singapore Woodlands, Singapore

February 4, 2010

February 4, 2010
16.00		  Singapore 25:1
( 11:0, 4:0, 10:1 )		  Malaysia Woodlands, Singapore
February 4, 2010
19.00		  Australia 3:3
( 2:0, 0:0, 1:3 )		 Korea Woodlands, Singapore

February 5, 2010

February 5, 2010
13.00		  Japan 11:1
( 3:0, 6:0, 2:1 )		  Malaysia Woodlands, Singapore
February 5, 2010
19.00		  Australia 4:8
( 1:0, 2:3, 1:5 )		  Singapore Woodlands, Singapore

February 6, 2010

February 6, 2010
15.00		  Malaysia 2:10
( 0:2, 1:2, 1:6 )		 Korea Woodlands, Singapore
February 6, 2010
18.00		  Singapore 2:2
( 1:1, 1:0, 0:1 )		  Japan Woodlands, Singapore

February 7, 2010

February 7, 2010
10.00		  Japan 6:4
( 1:0, 1:4, 4:0 )		 Korea Woodlands, Singapore
February 7, 2010
16.00		  Australia 10:0
( 2:0, 3:0, 5:0 )		  Malaysia Woodlands, Singapore

North American Qualifying

2010 Men's World
Floorball Championships
North American Qualifying
Tournament details
Host country  Canada
Dates February 5 to February 6, 2010
Teams 2
Venue(s) 1 (in 1 host city)
Final positions
Champions  Canada
Tournament statistics
Matches played 2
Goals scored 27 (13.5 per match)
Infobox last updated on: 00:32, 7 February 2010 (UTC).

The North American Qualifying rounds of the 2010 World Championships took place in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, from February 5 to February 6, 2010. 2 matches were played, and the winner advanced to the 2010 World Championships based on aggregate scoring.

Although the tournament is for North American qualifying, it was previously set up by the IFF for qualifying for the Americas, which would have included both North and South America.

Criticism

Only two teams out of four eligible teams registered for this event, those being Canada and the United States. The other two eligible teams were Argentina and Brazil. Brazil is the only team in the Americas which has yet to take part in an IFF-sanctioned world championship event, as Argentina was given a wild card to take part in the C-Division of the 2008 Men's World Floorball Championships.

Out of these two teams, only one would qualify and receive the North America slot in Group A at the 2010 World Championships. This format has drawn a lot of criticism from floorball media, as both Canada and the United States have consistently finished at the top of their respective divisions at previous world championships, but were unable to advance due to the IFF's poorly structured division advancement/relegation format.

However, even if all four eligible teams registered, only one slot at the world championships would have been given, which drew criticism as Asian/Oceanian qualifications give three slots at the world championships to six out of ten eligible teams.

It is believed that the IFF may change their continental qualification format for the 2012 Men's World Floorball Championships.

Group F

Team MP W D L GF GA GD PTS
 Canada 2 2 0 0 17 10 +7 4
 United States 2 0 0 2 10 17 -7 0

*Note: Standings table is provided only for statistical comparison, as qualifying in this group was based on aggregate scoring rather than ranking.

February 5, 2010

February 5, 2010
11.30		  United States (6) 6:11 (11)
( 4:3, 2:4, 0:4 )		  Canada Hamilton, Canada

February 6, 2010

February 6, 2010
13.00		  Canada (17) 6:4 (10)
( 2:0, 2:3, 2:1 )		  United States Hamilton, Canada

Citations

  1. ^ [1], WFC new system
  2. ^ [2], IFF - 2010 World Floorball Championships Groups
  3. ^ [3], India has withdrawn from the Men's WFC Qualification
  4. ^ [4], Full house of spectators witnessed Spanish victory

External links

See also

Men's World Floorball Championships
Continental Qualifying - Host Cities
Preceded by
None
2008		 Asia/Oceania
Woodlands, Singapore
2010		 Succeeded by
TBA
2012
Preceded by
None
2008		 East Europe
    San Lorenzo de El Escorial, Spain    
2010		 Succeeded by
TBA
2012
Preceded by
None
2008		 North/South America
Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
2010		 Succeeded by
TBA
2012
Preceded by
None
2008		 West Europe
Babimost, Poland
2010		 Succeeded by
TBA
2012