Swiss Floorball Association President Daniel Bareiss expressed "optimism" over staging the 2022 Men's World Floorball Championship ©Swiss Hockey

Swiss Floorball Association President Daniel Bareiss expressed "optimism" over a successful staging of the 2022 Men's World Floorball Championship in Zurich and Winterthur.

The competition is scheduled to take place from November 5 to 13 in 2022 at the new Swiss Life Arena in Zurich and AXA Arena in Winterthur. 

Planning for the event has begun, including the creation of a colourful logo and the slogan "floorball unlimited".

Bareiss revealed a colourful logo had been chosen to show the optimism of organisers, even with the challenges created by the COVID-19 pandemic. 

"We are dealing with the pandemic ­­- or rather its consequences - on a daily basis and this influence both the planning as well as the implementation of activities, for example promotional measures," he said.

"It is all the more important during this difficult time to create some colourful accents and to express our optimism that we look forward to celebrating a wonderful floorball festival in November 2022 in Switzerland."

Daniel Kasser, the managing director of the 2022 Men's World Floorball Championship, went into further detail.

"The dab of color is the characteristic element of the upcoming World Championships and symbolises floorball’s openness and diversity," Kasser said.

"With its matching slogan 'floorball unlimited', we want to increase floorball’s popularity during the next two years and show that floorball truly has something to offer for everyone. 

"It makes no difference if you are holding a floorball stick yourself or just following the progress of our national team."

A colourful logo has been chosen for the 2022 Men's World Floorball Championship ©IFF
A colourful logo has been chosen for the 2022 Men's World Floorball Championship ©IFF

There remains uncertainty over Swiss Life Arena, with construction work scheduled to finish in August 2022. 

Possible obstacles to the scheduled opening include the global health crisis and cold temperatures in winter. 

Bareiss remains confident the venue will be ready for competition, however.

"We are aiming for 150,000 spectators in 2022," he said. 

"We will also have the perfect infrastructure with the new Swiss Life Arena in Zurich and the tried-and-tested AXA Arena in Winterthur."

Sixteen countries are set to contest the 2022 Men's World Floorball Championship, including hosts Switzerland, defending champions Finland, Sweden and the Czech Republic. 

The last time the event was held in Switzerland was in 2012, in Bern and Zurich.