 | |
| Highestgoverning body | FITEQ |
|---|---|
| First played | 2014 inHungary |
| Characteristics | |
| Contact | No |
| Team members | singles, doubles,mixed doubles |
| Type | indoor, outdoor |
| Equipment | Ball (association football), teqball table |
Teqball is aball sport that is played on a curved table, combining elements ofsepak takraw andtable tennis. Back and forth, the players hit afootball with any part of the body except arms and hands. Teqball can be played between two players as a singles game or between four players as a doubles game. The game is represented at an international level by theInternational Teqball Federation (FITEQ). A number of world-classfootballers have been attracted by the game, and after being added to the programmes for the2021 Asian Beach Games and the2023 European Games, the sport is now aiming for Olympic inclusion.[1][2][3]
Teqball became the world's fastest-recognised sport in August 2018, when its highest governing body, FITEQ, was officially recognised by the Olympic Committee of Asia (OCA). In June 2019, it was officially recognised by the Association of National Olympic Committees of Africa (ANOCA).[4]
In November 2020, FITEQ was granted full membership of the Global Association of International Sports Federations (GAISF).[5]
Teqball was invented in 2014 inHungary by three football enthusiasts: former professional playerGábor Borsányi, businessmanGyörgy Gattyán, and computer scientistViktor Huszar.[6][7] The creative idea came from Borsányi, who used to play football on a table tennis table. The horizontal design of the table made the ball often not bounce to the players, so this game was not enjoyable. Borsányi thought that if the table were bent, the arched surface could help the ball bounce to the foot. After several years of development with Huszár, the first teqball table was made in 2014.[8]
The sport was officially presented inBudapest on 18 October 2016, by Brazilian ex-football playerRonaldinho, one of the ambassadors of teqball.
The rules are laid out in the FITEQ's set of rules.[9]
The official competition size of a teqball court is a minimum of 12 metres (39 ft) wide by a minimum of 16 metres (52 ft) long by a minimum of 7 metres (23 ft) high. The court must be rectangular and marked with surrounds with a minimum height of 500 mm (20 in) and a maximum height of 1,500 mm (59 in). The Teq table is in the exact middle of the court with the net being parallel to the shorter sides’ perimeters.
The curved table measures 3 metres (9.8 ft) in length and is 1.7 m (5 ft 7 in) wide with the highest point at 0.76 m (2 ft 6 in) in the middle of the playing surface where the net with the height of 14 cm (5.5 in) is installed separating the surface into two parts. The two outer edges of the width are 56.5 cm (22.2 in) above the ground.[10]
The ball is spherical and must be made of leather or another suitable material and has a latex bladder with a butyl valve. The ball is a regular size-5football, which has a lower pressure (between 0.3 and 0.5 atmospheres) than a normal football.
Unlike equipment in traditional sports, the design of the teqball table is patented,[11][12] so only Teqball International or others with a license from Teqball Holding SARL may legally manufacture tables. The name "teqball" itself is trademarked,[13] giving the trademark holder control over who may advertise teqball events or otherwise use the name in public. The teqball inventors view these legal restrictions as essential to their efforts to grow the sport.[14]
TheTeqball World Championships is an annual competition organised by FITEQ since 2017.
The Teqball World Championships has both Singles and Doubles competitions as well as Mixed Doubles. The first Teqball World Championships was held inBudapest, Hungary in 2017 with more than 20 participating nations. The 2018 version of the event was held from 12 to 13 October inReims, France with a total of 90 players participating.[15]
The2019 Teqball World Championships took place from 6–8 December in Budapest.[16] Around 160 athletes representing 58 countries competed across singles, doubles and mixed doubles events.[17]
FITEQ has taken the decision to postpone the 2020 Teqball World Championships due to the ongoing uncertainty and restrictions related to theCOVID-19 pandemic.[18]
2023 Teqball World Championships was organized outside Europe, for the first time, inBangkok,Thailand.[19]
Teqball was included in the firstAfrican Beach Games inSal, Cape Verde on 14–23 July 2019.[20] Cameroon won the title by beating Nigeria in the final.[21]
As a sport that is officially recognised by theOlympic Council of Asia (OCA), teqball was added to the programme for theSanya 2020, but The Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) has postponed theSanya Asian Beach Games, which was due to take place from 2–10 April 2021, as well as the Bangkok and ChonburiAsian Indoor and Martial Arts Games (AIMAG), which was scheduled for 21–30 May 2021. The decisions were taken by the OCA Executive Board in light of the ongoing challenges with the COVID-19 pandemic.
The OCA, theNational Olympic Committee of Thailand and the AIMAG 2021 Organising Committee have agreed that the event, in which teqball will be a demonstration sport, will now be held from 10 to 20 March 2022. The OCA has noted that it will continue its consultation with theChinese Olympic Committee and the Sanya Asian Beach Games Organising Committee to agree a new date for the6th Asian Beach Games, where teqball is set to make its debut as a medal sport.[22]
TheEuropean Olympic Committees (EOC) announced an agreement with FITEQ that will see teqball included for the first time in the programme of theEuropean Games in 2023.[23]
FITEQ has World Rankings for singles, doubles and mixed doubles, based onWorld Ranking points attained in official FITEQ events. FITEQ publishes regular updates to its World Rankings, which are used to determine the seeding of players into tournaments.[24]
Red Dot Design Award
ISPO Award 2015, 2016[27]
IF Design Award 2018 – Teq Smart[28]
Hungarian Design Award 2019 – Teq Smart[29]
