The Netherlands


The Netherlands was the one of first countries to import bandy from England and the first team, Amsterdamsche Hockey and Bandy Club was formed 28 January1892. The first bandy game was played between Amsterdamsche H&BC and a club from Haarlem (today Bloemendaal Mussen Bandy Team) 21 February 1892. A common federation for Bandy and field hockey was formed 1898 and bandy spread to Haag, Zwolle and Verserbeck. The Netherlands took part in the European Bandy Championships in 1913, but after that the warmer climate slowly killed the sport.

Bandy was reborn in the Netherlands in 1963, but is mainly played as 6-a-side game on an ice-hockey rink ("Rink Bandy"). The Netherlands made their debut in the Bandy World Championships in 1991 and participated in three World Championships (1991, 1993 and 1997), but they are still not a major force, and are together with Hungary the weakest of the world's bandy teams and their only win came Hungary in 1991 (4-1).