Portuguese Ball Hockey Association
| Date of Foundation | 2004 |
| President | Danny Rocha |
| Address | 33 Gabian Way, 1904 Toronto, Ontario M6M5G8 |
| info@portugalballhockeyassociation.com | |
| Telephone | 647 927 5711 |
| All links | https://linktr.ee/TeamPortugalBallHockey |
The Portuguese Ball Hockey Association (PBHA) is a Toronto-based non-profit organization representing Portugal in international ball hockey. Founded in 2004 and revived in 2023, the PBHA fields Men’s Open, Masters, and Legends teams while working to grow the sport among Portuguese communities in Canada, Portugal, and beyond.
Organization’s Timeline
| 2004 | PBHA is founded |
| 2005 – World Championship | 4th Place – Pittsburgh, USA |
| 2007 – World Championship | 5th Place – Ratingen, Germany |
| 2009 – World Championship | 6th Place – Pilsen, Czech Republic |
| 2011 – World Championship | 5th Place – Bratislava, Slovakia |
| 2013 – World Championship | 4th Place – St. John’s, Newfoundland |
| 2015 – World Championship | 7th Place – Zug, Switzerland |
| 2017 – World Championship | Result unknown – Pardubice, Czech Republic |
| 2017 | Operations paused |
| 2023 | Revival of the organization |
| 2024 | Launch of the Legends Team (45+), competing in Edmonton |
| 2025 | Introduction of the Masters Team, competing in Bermuda and capturing Portugal’s first Bronze Medal at the Masters level |
| 2026 | Grassroots and youth programs (planning stages) |
PBHA – From Canada, For Portugal
The Portuguese Ball Hockey Association (PBHA) is a Toronto-based non-profit organization dedicated to representing Portugal in the sport of ball hockey and helping grow the game among Portuguese communities in Canada, Portugal, and around the world.
Built on passion, national pride, volunteer commitment, and competitive spirit, the PBHA serves as the recognized governing body for Portugal in international ball hockey. The organization is officially recognized by the International Street and Ball Hockey Federation (ISBHF) and works in connection with the Federação Portuguesa de Hóquei to develop and manage Portuguese ball hockey initiatives.
Although based in Canada, the PBHA carries a mission that extends far beyond Toronto. Its long-term vision is to help establish ball hockey in Portugal, build youth development pathways, create sustainable national programs, and ensure that future generations of Portuguese athletes have the opportunity to wear the national crest on the world stage.
What is ball hockey?
Ball hockey is closely connected to the Canadian street-hockey tradition. For many children growing up in Canada, the sport begins on neighbourhood streets, driveways, schoolyards, and community rinks. It is played with sticks and a ball instead of a puck, and without skates. As David Silva explained on the LusoCanada Podcast, many Canadian children first discover the game informally, playing on the street with friends. Over time, that street game grew into organized leagues, arenas, provincial competitions, national championships, and international tournaments under the ISBHF.
One of the sport’s strengths is accessibility. Compared with ice hockey, ball hockey is more affordable and easier to enter. Young players need basic equipment such as a stick, helmet, gloves, and appropriate footwear, making it a realistic option for families looking for a fast, physical, team-based sport.
For the PBHA, that accessibility is part of the opportunity. Ball hockey can become a pathway for Portuguese youth to stay active, learn teamwork, connect with heritage, and eventually represent Portugal internationally.
Mission
The mission of the PBHA is to achieve international success through leadership, dedication, and hard work, while building a sustainable grassroots foundation for the future of the sport.
The organization is committed to fielding competitive Portuguese national teams, but its purpose is not limited to international tournaments. It also seeks to grow the game locally, create youth opportunities, support athlete development, strengthen community partnerships, and eventually help introduce ball hockey in Portugal.
The PBHA’s guiding identity can be summarized in four words: Portugal. Passion. Pride. Purpose.
History
The Portuguese Ball Hockey Association was founded in 2004 and quickly established itself as a competitive presence on the world stage. It competed at the world Championships, which are held every two years, from 2005 to 2017, representing Portugal with honour and accomplishing respectable results.
According to the organization, the program remained active until 2017, after which several key leaders stepped away and operations eventually paused. During an episode of the LusoCanada Podcast recorded in June of 2026, Danny Rocha and David Silva described this as a period in which the program lost momentum before being revived in 2023.
The PBHA’s first era had already shown that Portuguese athletes could compete internationally in ball hockey, but the new leadership that emerged after 2023 brought a renewed focus on structure, professionalism, growth, and long-term sustainability.
The revival
In 2023, the PBHA was revived with new leadership and purpose. Danny Rocha played a central role in bringing the organization back to life, reconnecting with former players, rebuilding the program, and restoring Portugal’s presence in international ball hockey.
In the podcast interview, Rocha explained that he saw “opportunity lost,” talent that could be organized, and a program that could still become something special, not only for the players, but also for their parents, families, and the future of the sport.
David Silva later became involved through the Legends team and helped bring a stronger administrative structure to the organization. He described the importance of creating clearer roles, building an executive team, documenting decisions, separating responsibilities, and making sure the organization could grow in a transparent and professional way.
This new phase has been marked by growth.
In 2024, the PBHA launched its Legends Team for players 45 and older, competing in Edmonton. In 2025, the organization introduced its Masters Team, competing in Bermuda and capturing Portugal’s first bronze medal at the Masters level.
Today, the PBHA operates three national teams:
Men’s Open — the main national team, beginning at age 16 and including elite-level players able to compete at the highest international standard.
Masters — for players 35 and older, allowing experienced athletes to continue representing Portugal in international competition.
Legends — for players 45 and older, celebrating longevity, experience, and continued passion for the sport.
Each team represents a different stage of athletic life, but all are united by one crest and one mission.
A Portuguese national team based in Canada
One of the most unique aspects of the PBHA is that it represents Portugal while being based in Canada. This is not unusual in international ball hockey. Several national programs are built around diaspora communities, particularly in countries where the sport is not yet widely played domestically. In Portugal’s case, the sport is still not established in a major way, which means the Portuguese program currently depends heavily on athletes of Portuguese heritage living abroad.
Toronto became a natural base because of Canada’s strong ball hockey culture and the size of the Portuguese community. Many players grew up around hockey, street hockey, Portuguese families, Portuguese clubs, and the emotional influence of Portugal’s national teams in sports such as football and roller hockey.
For PBHA athletes, representing Portugal is deeply personal. In the podcast, Silva described the feeling of standing on the blue line during the national anthem as a powerful moment, one that connects players to their parents, grandparents, and the sacrifices made by earlier generations.
Many of the athletes were born or raised in Canada, but they grew up in Portuguese homes, surrounded by Portuguese language, food, culture, sports passion, family memories, and the pride of a small country that often performs beyond its size on the world stage. That emotional connection is central to the PBHA. The players are not only competing for themselves. They are representing heritage, family, and identity.
Eligibility and recruitment
The PBHA recruits players of Portuguese descent from Canada, the United States, Europe, and beyond.
Eligibility is based on Portuguese citizenship, birth in Portugal, or Portuguese ancestry through a parent or grandparent. During the podcast, the PBHA leadership explained that international rules now allow greater flexibility for players who can demonstrate Portuguese heritage, which has helped expand the player pool beyond those who already hold Portuguese citizenship.
Most players are based in North America, especially Canada and the United States, but the organization has also drawn interest from athletes in Switzerland and other parts of Europe. Recruitment happens through leagues, player networks, social media, word of mouth, tryouts, tournament scouting, and direct outreach.
Because players may be spread across different cities and countries, commitment is essential. Some athletes travel long distances for practices, tournaments, and team events. The PBHA leadership described players driving for hours from places such as Massachusetts or Montreal to take part in training weekends and team activities. That level of commitment reflects the seriousness of the program and the pride players feel in representing Portugal.
Building youth programs
The future of the PBHA depends on youth development.
The organization’s next major objective is to create youth hockey teams and development programs, including a Learn to Play Program for children ages 6 to 10 and future U18 teams capable of competing at world championships.
For now, youth development would likely begin in Toronto for practical reasons, but the long-term goal is broader: to create a pipeline of young players who can grow within the program, develop skills, understand the culture of the organization, and eventually graduate into national teams. This is essential to the PBHA’s future. Without youth development, the program risks aging out. With youth development, the organization can build continuity, mentorship, and long-term excellence.
The PBHA also sees youth ball hockey as a complement to other sports. During the podcast, the leadership noted that children who play soccer can benefit from ball hockey outside the soccer season, gaining fitness, learning positioning, improving coordination, and enjoying an affordable sport that is easy to enter. Eventually, the PBHA hopes that today’s Masters and Legends players can become coaches, mentors, and leaders for the next generation.
Bringing ball hockey to Portugal
One of the organization’s most ambitious goals is to bring the sport to Portugal.
The PBHA leadership has already begun exploring possible relationships with contacts in Portugal, including connections with hockey clubs and organizations that could help introduce the sport. The idea is to bring equipment, demonstrate the game, run clinics, build interest, and eventually help establish local programs. In the long term, the dream is to see a Portugal Ball Hockey League in Portugal, with local players developing domestically, competing nationally, and eventually feeding into world championship teams.
The organization understands that if the sport grows in Portugal, future leadership may eventually shift there or become more shared between Portugal and the diaspora. PBHA leaders see that not as a threat, but as success. Their goal is to build something strong enough that future generations can take it further.
Funding and community support
Like many volunteer-led national programs, the PBHA faces major financial challenges.
International competition is expensive. Players often pay significant costs for flights, hotels, food, equipment, registration, and travel. During the podcast, the leadership estimated that a player travelling to Europe for competition can face costs in the range of several thousand dollars.
The organization raises funds through events, merchandise, community support, and sponsorship opportunities. Annual initiatives include a golf tournament near the end of May and a PBHA Gala in late September. Sponsorship is especially important. The PBHA offers visibility through jerseys, equipment bags, events, social media, videos, podcasts, interviews, and international tournaments. As its social media presence grows, sponsors have an opportunity to support a rising Portuguese sports program with international reach.
The organization is also looking for more than financial support. It welcomes help from community partners with experience in sponsorship, law, governance, contracts, marketing, event planning, youth programming, and institutional relationships.
Community connection
Wherever the PBHA travels, it looks for Portuguese community connections. In Switzerland, the team connected with a Portuguese club. In Bermuda, players were hosted by Portuguese community organizations, and games drew strong support from local Portuguese clubs. The PBHA sees those relationships as an important part of its identity.
The organization does not want to exist apart from the community, but to participate in it, support it, and build bridges with clubs, festivals, associations, folklore groups, sponsors, and families. That community spirit is part of what makes the PBHA more than a sports program. It is also a cultural and diasporic project.
Language and identity
Portuguese identity inside the PBHA is lived in different ways. Some players speak Portuguese fluently. Others speak it partially, mostly with parents or grandparents. Some use Portuguese on the floor during games, partly for connection and partly because it can become a competitive advantage when opponents do not understand.
However, fluency is not the only measure of belonging. For the PBHA, what matters is pride, connection, effort, and the desire to represent Portugal with honour. Players may come from different Portuguese regions, families, accents, and experiences, but they share the same crest.
Looking ahead
The PBHA’s long-term vision is ambitious. In five to ten years, the organization hopes to have a stronger relationship with Portugal, connections with government and sport institutions, possible paid positions within the organization, active youth development, and perhaps even a role in conversations about ball hockey’s future Olympic potential.
Its leaders know that this dream will require more people, more partnerships, more funding, and more structure, but the foundation is being built. From a revived organization in 2023 to three national teams today, the PBHA has already shown that Portuguese ball hockey has energy, identity, and room to grow.
The next chapter will depend on the same values that brought it back: passion, pride, purpose, and the willingness to work.
Executive
President: Danny Rocha
Vice-President of Operations: David Silva
Operations Manager: Nelson Verissimo
Treasurer: Joanne Verissimo
Teams
Men’s Open — 16+
Masters — 35+
Legends — 45+
Key initiatives
Youth Hockey Teams — with the goal of competing at world championships, including U18 development
Learn to Play Program — an eight-week program for children ages 6 to 10 focused on skills, rules, and play
Annual events
Annual Golf Tournament — end of May
International World Championships — two teams per year
PBHA Gala — late September
Contact
Instagram: @PortugalBallHockey
Email: info@PortugalBallHockeyAssociation.com
Linktree: https://linktr.ee/TeamPortugalBallHockey
* The PBHA’s Linktree includes links to registration, merchandise, events, and other ways to connect with the organization.