The International Federation of Teqball (FITEQ) has surpassed the significant milestone of recognising 50 National Teqball Federations after four new federations were officially welcomed into the global teqball family this month.

FITEQ was established in 2017, with its first key engagement with the international sports movement coming at SportAccord 2018 in Bangkok. FITEQ was a Gold Partner at the global gathering of sports federations, where it promoted its primary mission of introducing, fostering and developing teqball all over the world. National Teqball Federations are critical in supporting FITEQ achieve this mission as they assist in growing the sport from grassroots up to elite level within their countries.

At SportAccord in Bangkok in April 2018, FITEQ had just four National Teqball Federations. Two years on, 51 National Teqball Federations from all five continents have been created, reflecting the rapid global rise in popularity of the sport. The latest federations to be recognised are the National Teqball Federations of Indonesia, Kyrgyzstan, Liberia and Eswatini. FITEQ is hoping to use this landmark as a springboard for further growth of the sport, with the International Federation aiming to recognise 75 National Teqball Federations by the end of 2020.

FITEQ President Gábor Borsányi said: “We are very proud to have reached more than 50 national federations on all five continents within only three years. This shows the power and opportunity of teqball. In 2020, we are determined to continue to increase awareness all around the world. Moreover, we will continue to put great effort and resources into our development programme for the national federations which will support them in developing teqball within their countries.”

FITEQ Vice President Gyuri Gattyán said: “This is a moment we will all remember fondly in years to come as it is a sign that the hard work of FITEQ team over the past three years is reaping its rewards. However, we will not be complacent and if anything we will now work even harder to ensure we achieve our vision of enabling every person to participate in teqball and inspire the world through sporting success. We are in dialogue with 150 countries that have not yet established National Teqball Federations and it is our job to support them throughout this process, so that people in these countries can reach their full potential, whatever level that might be.” 

In addition to growing the number of National Teqball Federations, FITEQ is striving to achieve recognition by the global sporting community. This process is already well under way with FITEQ successful in achieving official recognition by the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) in August 2018, and the Association of National Olympic Committees of Africa (ANOCA) in June 2019. In January 2020, FITEQ was granted observer status by the Global Association of International Sports Federations (GAISF) and in March 2020, the International Federation officially joined the Organisation of Sports Federations of Oceania.