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The International Padel Federation was founded in Madrid on July 12, 1991 by the legal representatives of the Argentinian, Spanish and Uruguayan federations. The first president was the Spaniard Julio Alegría Artiach, the actual is the Italian Luigi Carraro
19 maggio 2022
Luigi Carraro, presidente della Federazione Internazionale Padel (foto Qatar Major)
When padel became a very popular sport in several countries of South America and Europe, the goal was to better coordinate the whole activity. The International Padel Federation was created in Madrid, on July 12th 1991, by the legal representatives of the Argentine Padel Association, the Spanish Padel Association and the Uruguayan Padel Association. They chose Julio Alegría Artiach from Spain as the first President.
Two years earlier, in 1989, another pivotal moment for the padel as we know it today had happened when the Argentine coach Jorge Galeotti conceived what he would have called 'Crystal Palace', the first detachable and transportable glass court that could be set up in any outdoor or indoor venue.
The first World Championship was held in 1992 in Spain. Eight teams took part to the event: the host national team, Argentina, Italy, France, Uruguay, England, Mexico and Paraguay. That first edition featured male and female competitions. Argentines won both gold medals over Spain.
In 2018, the Italian Luigi Carraro was elected president of the International Padel Federation that now brings together 51 National Federations: Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Chile, China, Czech Republic, Denmark, Dominican Repulic, Ecuador, Egypt, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Great Britain, Guatemala, Hungary, India, Iran, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Lithuania, Malta, Mexico, Monaco, Netherlands, Norway, Paraguay, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Russia, San Marino, Senegal, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, Ukraine, Uruguay, United States.
From January 1st, 2023, 65 National Federations will be represented within FIP worldwide as 14 National Federations were voted into FIP’s membership last April in the annual General Assembly in Rome: Albania, Bahrain, Croatia, El Salvador, Israel, Kuwait, Lebanon, Maldives, New Zealand, Oman, Philippines, Saudi Arabia, Slovenia, and Vatican City.
Padel is currently present in 90 countries, with over 18 million total players.