Pickleball’s growth in North America was attraction for the rest of the world. The easy-to-learn sport was taken up by people from various age groups globally. The rise of the games in all continents led to the formation of national, international, and continent governing bodies.
Europe’s turn to make its mark in Pickleball came in May 2023, when an announcement was made of the creation of the European Pickleball Federation. Headquartered in Luxembourg, the association has sets the standards for a country to be eligible as a full or an associate member of the federation.
For a country to be a part of the European Pickleball Federation, it must fulfil the following criteria:
- The national governing body aims to develop the sport as a National event in the country.
- The governing body is a non-profit organization.
- The sport has been prevalent under the supervision of an authority for at least one year.
- Multiple clubs have been affiliated with the sport in the country.
- The country has seen the organization of various pickleball tournaments at different tiers.
Based on this criteria, as of August 2024, the full members of the European Pickleball Federation include Belgium, Denmark, England, France, Germany, Netherlands, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Malta, Poland, Portugal, Scotland, Serbia, Spain, Sweden, and Turkey.
The associate members as of August 2024 are Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, Estonia, Finland, Georgia, Germany, Gibraltar, Greece, Latvia, Lithuania, North Macedonia, Norway, Russia, Slovakia, Switzerland, and Wales.
The European Pickleball Federation is also the governing body of the continent’s largest team event, the European Pickleball Championships.
