As a professional floorball equipment manufacturer, we are committed to providing high-quality equipment for floorball enthusiasts and practitioners worldwide, with products covering various categories such as floorball sticks, balls, goalkeepers' protective jerseys, and knee pads. In the process of dealing with customers from all over the world, we have discovered a very interesting phenomenon - floorball has completely different names in different countries. This not only reflects the spread and development trajectory of this sport in different regions but also adds a lot of fun to our cross-cultural communication.
In Sweden, the birthplace of this sport, it is called "innebandy". This name has a strong local flavor and has witnessed the evolution of floorball from its initial form to gradual standardization. It holds an important position in Swedish sports culture and is loved by people of all ages.
In Finland, floorball is known as "salibandy". Finland has certain geographical and cultural ties with Sweden. The name "salibandy" not only reflects the connection between the two countries but also has Finland's own linguistic characteristics, which also indirectly reflects the popularity and unique development trend of floorball in Finland.
In English-speaking countries such as the United Kingdom and the United States, "floorball" is a more commonly used name. With the global promotion of this sport, "floorball", due to its simplicity and clarity, has become a widely used term in international communication, facilitating communication among enthusiasts from different countries. In the United States, in addition to "floorball", it was also called "Cosom hockey" in the early stages of its development. At that time, to promote this sport similar to today's soft hockey, it was named floor hockey, and the Cosom brand was registered to produce related products. For a certain period, Cosom floor hockey was quite popular in the United States.
Canada also has multiple names for it. In addition to "floorball", during its development, because of its connection with ice hockey, it was called "ball hockey".
In Singapore, people are used to calling it "floorball", which is consistent with English-speaking countries. This is also closely related to Singapore's social environment of multicultural integration and widespread use of English, enabling this sport to be quickly accepted and recognized by the public in Singapore.
In Germany, floorball is often referred to as "Unihockey". This name originates from the fact that the sport was initially popular in universities and other educational institutions. "Uni" is the abbreviation of university, which not only reflects the starting point of the sport's spread but also has distinct German linguistic marks. Nowadays, "Unihockey" is a popular sport in schools and communities in Germany.
Switzerland, as a multilingual country, is often influenced by neighboring countries in the use of sports terms. Like Germany, the Swiss also call floorball "Unihockey". Whether in the German-speaking, French-speaking, or Italian-speaking regions of Switzerland, the term "Unihockey" is widely recognized and has become the conventional name for this sport among the Swiss people, effectively promoting the popularization and development of floorball in Switzerland.
In Ireland, although the English name "floorball" is also commonly used, local people also have the habit of calling it "Irish floorball". This name emphasizes Irish local characteristics and frequently appears in the promotion of various floorball events and related activities in Ireland, narrowing the distance between this sport and the Irish people and highlighting the unique development path of floorball in Ireland.
Poland calls floorball "polski uni hokej". "Uni" comes from the fact that this sport initially emerged in universities, and combined with Poland's own language habits, this name was formed. Since the establishment of the Polish Floorball Federation in 1995, "polski uni hokej" has become increasingly popular. Nowadays, Poland has a mature league system; for example, Ekstraliga, as the top league, attracts many teams to participate, effectively promoting the vigorous development of "polski uni hokej" in Poland.
Lithuania refers to floorball as "florbola", which is a transliteration based on the English pronunciation of floorball combined with the linguistic characteristics of Lithuanian. With the gradual promotion of floorball in Lithuania, the number of people participating in this sport is increasing. The word "florbola" has been getting more and more exposure in the sports field in Lithuania. In sports activities organized by schools and communities, "florbola" has gradually become a well-known name for this sport.
In Japan, a common name for floorball is "unihoc". The widespread use of this name is closely related to the promotion and development path of floorball in Japan. Through this name, floorball has gradually integrated into Japanese sports culture and is known by more and more Japanese people.
In China, the current official translation is "软式曲棍球 (ruǎnshì qūgùnqiú)". When "floorball" entered China in 2008, it was named "旱地冰球 (hàndì bīngqiú)". Before that, there was also a down-to-earth transliteration "福乐球 (fúlè qiú)". However, in daily life, besides "旱地冰球 (hàndì bīngqiú)", another common name is "地板球 (dìbǎn qiú)". Nowadays, floorball is developing rapidly in China. In 2019, the official name was formally unified as "软式曲棍球 (ruǎnshì qūgùnqiú)". Nearly 80 universities across the country have carried out this sport. In the northeast region, it also has the nickname "雪地球 (xuědì qiú)" with slightly modified rules, and it is also developing well locally.
Behind the different names are the unique stories of floorball taking root and growing around the world, which also let us see the strong vitality and wide influence of this sport.
If you need various floorball equipment, whether it is high-performance sticks for professional competitions or balls and protective gear needed for daily training, you can contact us. We understand the difficulties faced by small brands in their development, so we have launched a low minimum order quantity policy to help small brands reduce initial investment costs, quickly carry out business, and expand the market. Let us work together to contribute to the development of floorball.
