Nicolas Van Thielen was recently appointed to the International Floorball Federation (IFF) Central Board. He is a board member of Floorball Canada and resides in Belgium. In addition to his new role, he will also chair the North America Development Committee.
As the newest member of the Central Board, Van Thielen brings a wealth of experience in floorball. On the field, he played as a field player in 2015 and 2016 and is currently a recreational goalkeeper. He also served as a referee in 2017 and 2018. For several years, he has been the Head Coach of youth and women’s teams at the Renards de La Hulpe floorball club in Belgium. Currently, he is the Head Coach of the Canadian Women’s National Team, with which he participated in The World Games in Chengdu.
Off the field, Van Thielen has been the team manager for youth teams at the Renards de La Hulpe floorball club for several years and has also served as the Team Manager for the Women’s U19 Canadian team. Additionally, he holds a director position on the Floorball Canada Board, where he oversees the Women’s High-Performance program.
Professionally, Van Thielen is the Managing Director at Vaillant Group Belgium. He holds a Master’s degree in Common European Management Studies (CEMS) from the Stockholm School of Economics in Sweden and a Master’s degree in Business Engineering from the Catholic University of Leuven in Belgium.
Outside of floorball, he enjoys traveling and exploring new cultures with his wife and their two daughters. He has a passion for nature, especially in Canada, where part of his family is from. Van Thielen is also an endurance sports enthusiast, having completed three Ironman races, two Vasaloppet events, and one Powerman race, along with hiking, biking, and skiing.
Now, he is ready to take on a new challenge that requires a different kind of endurance. His appointment to the IFF Central Board was supported by both the US and Canadian federations.
– I am really excited to join the IFF Central Board and help grow our sport. I am particularly interested in collaborating with national floorball federations to develop the sport and make floorball stronger and better known around the world, says Nicolas Van Thielen.
The IFF President Filip Suman is also delighted about having new addition to the Central Board while he wants to express his gratitude to a former board member Calle Karlsson.
– Firstly, I would like to thank Calle Karlsson for his four years of contribution to international development. His resignation so early after the recent election was surprising, but in the last period, he worked as a link with the North American continent, which is important for the future development of floorball.
As previously mentioned, Van Thielen brings extensive experience both on and off the field to the IFF Central Board, continuing the valuable contributions he has already made as a board member of Floorball Canada.
– I am very glad that it is Nicolas Van Thielen who is now joining the IFF Central Board. I would like to thank both the US Floorball president Brian Radichel and the President of Floorball Canada, Heather Hudson, for their consultations and support of Nicolas as a candidate for a vacant seat.
– I want to congratulate Nicolas and I am sure he will bring to the Central Board the right attitude and also the much-needed passion for floorball development. He was also appointed as a chair of the North America Development Committee, and the growth of floorball on all continents is logically one of the priorities for the whole world of floorball, Suman concludes.
Next IFF CB meeting takes place in Helsinki, Finland from 25th – 26th October 2025.