Leeds City Korfball Club - What is Korfball?

Discover Korfball

Korfball is a sport played within a rectangular field of play indoors or outdoors. Teams of four female players and four male players try to shoot a ball into a korf (basket). The sport’s main characteristics encompass all-round skills, team play, controlled physical contact and gender co-operation.

Teams of eight players divide into two sections – two male, two female in each section. Playing area consists of two large squares joined along the centre line, each square with a ‘korf’ set in one third from the back line. One section starts the game in attack, the other in defence. Sections swap roles after two goals have been scored.

In the UK, the sport is typically played indoors for the majority of the year with outdoor tournaments played in the summer months.

Korfball basics

No running with the ball
No dribbling
No deliberate physical contact

Defending

Goals can only be scored when a player breaks free from his or her defender. An attacker is ‘defended’ when a defender of the same sex is:

between the attacker and the korf
able to touch the attacker’s torso
facing the attacker
has one arm up to block a shot

A shot taken while an attacker is ‘defended’ gives away a free pass to the defending team. Defending an attacker of the opposite sex who would otherwise be free gives away a penalty shot to the attacking team.

Shooting

An attacker must break free from his or her defender before attempting a shot. This can be done either by:

making distance back from the defender and shooting over him or her (a ‘long shot’ or ‘distance shot’)
catching the defender off balance, running past him or her, taking a pass from a team-mate and shooting on the run (a ‘running-in shot’ – similar to a basketball ‘lay up’)

Distinct korfball techniques have been developed as the most efficient ways to execute these shots, but these are not compulsory – players are allowed to improvise.

Free Pass

A free pass occurs after an infringement. Players must stand 2.5 metres from the player taking the free pass and the pass must be taken within four seconds of the referee’s whistle. Free passes after a ball is ‘out’ are taken from the point the ball left the playing area. At the beginning of the game, at half time and after a goal is scored a free pass is taken to restart the game from halfway. A goal may not be scored directly from a free pass.

Penalty

A penalty is awarded when an infringement prevents a scoring chance. The penalty taker must stand 2.5 metres from the korf to take the penalty. All other players must stand 2.5 metres from both the korf and the penalty-taker.