The resignation of the FIB president has deepened the crisis in world bandy
The Federation of International Bandy, known by the English abbreviation FIB, has entered a new phase of governance crisis after its president Henrik Nilsson resigned with immediate effect. According to the FIB announcement of 18 June 2026, Nilsson stepped down because of differing views between him and the majority of the Executive Committee on how to consider the possible inclusion of Russian and Belarusian athletes, that is, teams, in international competitions under the auspices of that federation. The resignation occurred at a moment when FIB is trying to align its own decisions with the newer recommendations of the International Olympic Committee, but also with the politically sensitive consequences of the war in Ukraine, because of which Russian and Belarusian athletes in numerous sports have faced restrictions or special conditions for participation since 2022.
According to the resignation letter that, as Swedish TV4 reported citing the TT news agency, that media outlet had seen, Nilsson linked his departure to the way the federation had acted on issues connected with Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine. The same report also conveyed his message that, although he believes different opinions should exist within the leadership of the organization, he can no longer remain in the FIB leadership under the current direction of action. In this way, the conflict that had been developing for weeks within the top of world bandy grew into an open institutional crisis, because the departure of an elected president raises not only the question of sporting criteria for the return of excluded participants, but also the question of trust, authority and the manner of decision-making in the federation.
What FIB announced after the resignation
In an official statement, FIB said that, as a recognized international federation, it follows the recommendations of the International Olympic Committee. The federation emphasized that the IOC recommendations were not implemented immediately or automatically, but that the Executive Committee established and approved a special integration working group. The task of that group, according to FIB, is to coordinate with relevant stakeholders, assess the current situation and submit recommendations to the Executive Committee on the possible inclusion of Russian and Belarusian teams in FIB competitions. According to an earlier summary of Executive Committee meetings, the group also includes Athletes' Committee representative Rebecca Draper, and her participation is important because the return of any group of athletes to the international system cannot be only an administrative issue, but directly affects the competitors who would be expected to play against them.
In the same announcement, FIB also rejected some of the claims which, according to the federation, had been made in Swedish media. The federation stated that its representatives had not recently visited Russia and that Kazakhstan had not been part of those discussions. That formulation shows that the dispute concerns not only the final outcome of talks on Russian and Belarusian participants, but also the perception of the procedure, that is, the question of what was actually happening behind closed doors and how the information was presented to the public. According to FIB, the Executive Committee will hold additional meetings to consider the situation that has arisen and determine the next steps, and stakeholders should be informed about them as soon as possible.
Stein Pedersen temporarily assumes presidential powers
Until further notice, presidential powers and duties are being assumed by first vice-president Stein Pedersen. In its statement, FIB said that this transfer of powers is being carried out in accordance with Article 28.4 of the federation's statutes. Pedersen is not a new figure at the top of the organization: according to an announcement by the Swedish Bandy Association from June 2024, he was elected first vice-president in the same cycle in which Henrik Nilsson became FIB president. In the Executive Committee composition at the time, Antti Parviainen from Finland and Attila Adamfi from Hungary were also listed as vice-presidents, while Andrew Knutsson, Chanel Gilomen, Dawei Wu and Mikhail Entaltsev were among the committee members.
The temporary transfer of powers is important for the federation's operational continuity because FIB, in addition to the politically sensitive issue of Russia and Belarus, must continue to manage the competition calendar, transfer rules, development programmes and relations with national associations. In such circumstances, the leadership must simultaneously ensure legal stability, transparency and the trust of member associations, and it is precisely these three elements that are at the centre of the current dispute. According to available information, no date has been announced for a possible extraordinary congress, nor has it been officially confirmed when a decision could be made on a permanent successor to the presidential post. Therefore, the immediate outcome will probably unfold through decisions of the Executive Committee and through communication with national federations.
The crisis began before the resignation
Nilsson's resignation did not come suddenly in a vacuum. As early as 26 May 2026, FIB published a summary of Executive Committee meetings stating that the committee had unanimously passed a vote of no confidence in Nilsson because of his recent activities. According to that summary, in order to support the work of the federation, the Executive Committee established a steering commission with Pedersen as chair, together with Antti Parviainen and secretary general Attila Adamfi. The same announcement stated that the committee confirmed the integration working group established by the secretary general, whose task is to analyse the global environment, coordinate with relevant stakeholders and propose solutions regarding the possible integration of Russian and Belarusian teams.
The sports portal SportsIN, citing information published by FIB, reported at the beginning of June that the conflict also included issues of internal governance, statutory powers and relations with secretary general Adamfi. According to that report, the Executive Committee considered the arguments against the secretary general to be invalid and unfounded and expressed support for his work. SportsIN also stated that the Executive Committee had raised concerns about attempts at unilateral changes to operational procedures, communication systems and reporting structures. Although these elements are not the same as the question of the return of Russian and Belarusian athletes, they point to a broader crisis of trust between the president and the majority of the executive body.
Olympic recommendations opened a sensitive issue
The central sporting and political framework of this crisis consists of the recommendations of the International Olympic Committee. After the start of Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the IOC recommended restrictions for Russian and Belarusian athletes and officials, and later developed a model of participation under neutral status with strict conditions. According to the IOC's official explanations, in international competitions the participation of teams with Russian or Belarusian passports was not recommended within the general model of individual neutral athletes, and athletes and members of support teams who actively support the war or are linked to the military and security services were to be excluded.
During 2025 and 2026, the Olympic framework began to change in certain segments. According to the IOC announcement after the Olympic Summit in December 2025, a recommendation was supported that young athletes with Russian or Belarusian passports should no longer have their access to international youth competitions restricted, in both individual and team sports, while the definition of youth competitions and the application of the recommendations are left to the rules of individual international federations. In May 2026, the IOC announced that it no longer recommends any restrictions on the participation of Belarusian athletes, including teams, in competitions run by international federations and international sports event organizers. It was precisely such a changing framework that put additional pressure on FIB, because bandy has a strong tradition in Russia, but also member associations that have firmly opposed the return of Russian and Belarusian representatives since the beginning of the war.
The special sensitivity of bandy
Bandy is a sport with a long tradition in northern Europe and Russia, and FIB states in its materials that it was founded on 12 February 1955 in Stockholm, with four founding countries: Norway, the then USSR, Finland and Sweden. The federation states that its task is to lead and oversee bandy and rink bandy worldwide, adopt the rules of the game, organize world championships and work on the development of the sport in member countries. FIB also emphasizes that in its activities it shares the principles of the Olympic Charter and works to make bandy an Olympic sport. That Olympic goal further explains why FIB refers to IOC recommendations, but it does not remove the political and ethical weight of the decisions it must make.
Unlike some more globally widespread sports, bandy has a narrower competitive base and a strong historical reliance on countries in which the consequences of the war in Ukraine are a particularly sensitive topic for sports associations. As early as January 2023, the Swedish Bandy Association announced that it saw no reason to change its position on Russian and Belarusian participation in international sport and at that time emphasized solidarity with Ukraine and the Ukrainian people. Such a position shows why FIB decisions cannot be viewed only as a technical alignment with IOC recommendations. They simultaneously concern the identity of the sport, relations among member associations, the safety of competitions, the integrity of international tournaments and the message that a sports organization sends in the broader political environment.
Dialogue with the Russian Bandy Federation and the issue of youth categories
An additional element in this case is FIB's earlier contact with the Russian Bandy Federation. In April 2026, SportsIN reported that FIB secretary general Attila Adamfi met in Batumi, Georgia, with the first vice-president of the Russian Bandy Federation, Evgeny Ivanushkin. According to that report, the conversation was presented as the first official step toward restoring institutional dialogue and cooperation, with special emphasis on the possible return of Russian youth teams to international bandy competitions. SportsIN stated that the framework for the conversation was connected with the IOC recommendation on young athletes' access to international competitions.
Such dialogue does not necessarily mean that a final decision has been made, but it is enough to provoke strong reactions in a sport in which teams and clubs from Russia are historically important, while the war in Ukraine continues to shape international sports relations. FIB is now trying to present the procedure as a controlled process in which the working group still has to gather information, speak with stakeholders and prepare recommendations. Nilsson's resignation, however, shows that there was no agreement within the top of the federation either on the direction or on the way that procedure should be led. For FIB member associations, it will be crucial whether the working group has a clear mandate, whether its conclusions will be publicly explained and whether decisions will be made in accordance with the statutes and previous promises of transparency.
What follows for FIB
According to official information, the FIB Executive Committee will continue discussing the situation and determine the necessary next steps. In practice, this means that the federation must resolve two connected but separate crises. The first is personnel-related and managerial: after the president's resignation, it is necessary to ensure stable leadership of the organization and define whether Pedersen will only temporarily perform the duty or whether a broader electoral process will be launched. The second is substantive and politically sensitive: it is necessary to decide how to position itself toward Russian and Belarusian athletes and teams in the coming season, especially in youth categories, and perhaps also in the broader competition system.
For FIB, the risk is twofold. If it acts too slowly or unclearly, distrust among member associations and athletes will deepen. If it makes decisions without a convincing explanation, it may face new criticism, possible boycotts or splits in the competition calendar. On the other hand, every international federation that invokes the autonomy of sport must show that its autonomy includes responsibility, consultations and clear rules. In the case of bandy, that test will be especially visible because the crisis is not taking place on the periphery of governance, but in the presidential office and the Executive Committee itself.
Nilsson's departure is therefore not only a change at the head of one sports federation. It is a symptom of the broader dilemma that international sport has faced since 2022: how to protect athletes from collective punishment, how to respect the security and ethical consequences of war, how to preserve solidarity with Ukraine and how to prevent sports competitions from becoming an extension of state policy. FIB has not yet announced a final decision on Russian and Belarusian teams, and according to available information the working group still has to submit recommendations to the Executive Committee. It is precisely the way in which those recommendations will be prepared, presented and turned into decisions that will determine whether the crisis calms down or deepens in the months to come.
Sources:
- Federation of International Bandy – official statement on the resignation of Henrik Nilsson, the transfer of powers to Stein Pedersen and the establishment of the integration working group (link)
- Federation of International Bandy – summary of Executive Committee meetings, including the vote of no confidence, the steering commission and the composition of the integration working group (link)
- International Olympic Committee – announcement on the end of recommended restrictions for Belarusian athletes in competitions of international federations (link)
- International Olympic Committee – announcement after the Olympic Summit on access to international youth competitions for young athletes with Russian or Belarusian passports (link)
- International Olympic Committee – official Q&A on sanctions, neutral athletes and conditions of participation for athletes with Russian or Belarusian passports (link)
- TV4 / TT – Swedish report on Nilsson's resignation letter and the reasons he cited on departure (link)
- SportsIN – report on the earlier institutional crisis in FIB, the vote of no confidence and the attitude toward secretary general Attila Adamfi (link)
- SportsIN – report on the dialogue between FIB and the Russian Bandy Federation after the IOC recommendations on young athletes (link)
- Federation of International Bandy – official information on the history, tasks and goals of FIB (link)
- Svenska Bandyförbundet – announcement on the election of Henrik Nilsson as FIB president and the composition of the Executive Committee from 2024 (link)