After a storm of protest, the International Floorball Federation (IFF) has decided to put the announced rules on the same stick and grip on hold for the time being. The federation will take the time to reconsider the decision.

Last week it was announced that the IFF wanted to make it mandatory that stick grips were of the same brand as the stick itself. The new regulations included a change concerning the rule of marking the grips for floorball sticks and the requirements to have the same branded grip as the stick.

There was a lot of criticism internationally, because floorball players wanted to be free to choose their own grip. Moreover, the reason for the decision was unclear to many people.

On the IFF’s website, Secretary General John Liljelund said: “The decision led to heavy debate and much negative feedback from the floorball world and some concerns were also raised by the floorball manufacturers. The IFF therefore feels that it is necessary to take a time-out in this matter and to discuss and evaluate all the effects that the rule would have. As the decision would only have taken effect on 1st of July 2020, with still a one year transfer period for the players, there is still time to open and re-evaluate the decision.”

More information will follow, as Liljelund mentioned. The new regulations would have taken effect in July 2020 (with a transitional period to 2021), so there’s still time to evaluate.

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