The European Bridge League is a confederation of National Bridge Federations (NBFs) that organize the

card game A card game is any game that uses playing cards as the primary device with which the game is played, whether the cards are of a traditional design or specifically created for the game (proprietary). Countless card games exist, including famil ...

contract bridge Contract bridge, or simply bridge, is a trick-taking game, trick-taking card game using a standard 52-card deck. In its basic format, it is played by four players in two Team game, competing partnerships, with partners sitting opposite each othe ...

in European nations. In turn the EBL organizes bridge competition at the European level. It is a member of the European Olympic Committee and of the

World Bridge Federation The World Bridge Federation (WBF) is the international governing body of contract bridge. The WBF is responsible for world championship competitions, most of which are conducted at a few multi-event meets on a four-year cycle. The most prestigio ...

, where it constitutes one of eight "Zones" in world bridge.European Bridge League
. EBL. Retrieved 2011-07-02.Geographical Zones
. World Bridge Federation. Retrieved 2011-07-02. Beside the administration of bridge competition (European level and European participation at the world level), the EBL provides online services for players, such as a calendar of tournaments across Europe, a list of bridge books with some reviews, and a record of major achievements by players. The European Bridge League was established in 1947 by eight NBFs meeting in Denmark. It is incorporated in Switzerland with headquarters in

Lausanne Lausanne ( , ; ; ) is the capital and largest List of towns in Switzerland, city of the Swiss French-speaking Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Vaud, in Switzerland. It is a hilly city situated on the shores of Lake Geneva, about halfway bet ...

, administrative center and secretariat in

Milan, Italy Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...

. From June 2010 the EBL President is Yves Aubry. European bridge players are members of the national federations. there are 49 EBL member countries (NBFs) with nearly 400,000 member players.EBL Member Countries
. EBL. Retrieved 2011-07-02. In turn that is nearly 40% of the countries and 60% of the players under the auspices of the World Bridge Federation. Contestants from EBL member countries have achieved great success at the world level. They won 22 of 27 medals in bridge at the first

World Mind Sports Games The World Mind Sports Games (WMSG) was a multi-sport event created by the International Mind Sports Association (IMSA) as a "stepping stone on the path of introducing a third kind of Olympic Games (after the Summer and the Winter Olympics)". The ...

, 2008 in

Beijing Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...

. There were six EBL members in the field of 22 for the last national

teams A team is a group of individuals (human or non-human) working together to achieve their goal. As defined by Professor Leigh Thompson (academic), Leigh Thompson of the Kellogg School of Management, " team is a group of people who are interd ...

world championship, the 2009

Bermuda Bowl The Bermuda Bowl is a biennial contract bridge world championship for national . It is contested every odd-numbered year under the auspices of the World Bridge Federation (WBF), alongside the Venice Cup (women), the d'Orsi Senior Bowl and the Wu ...

, and all six advanced to the 8-team knockout stage.39th World Team Championships: Results & Participants
World Bridge Federation. Retrieved 2011-07-02.

Members

European Bridge League members are National Bridge Federations and registered European bridge players are members of their national federations. there are 49 EBL member countries (NBFs) with nearly 400,000 member players. In turn the Europeans are nearly 40% of the countries and 60% of the players under the auspices of the World Bridge Federation. Geographically the EBL members range from

Iceland Iceland is a Nordic countries, Nordic island country between the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge between North America and Europe. It is culturally and politically linked with Europe and is the regi ...

Malta Malta, officially the Republic of Malta, is an island country in Southern Europe located in the Mediterranean Sea, between Sicily and North Africa. It consists of an archipelago south of Italy, east of Tunisia, and north of Libya. The two ...

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

Armenia Armenia, officially the Republic of Armenia, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of West Asia. It is a part of the Caucasus region and is bordered by Turkey to the west, Georgia (country), Georgia to the north and Azerbaijan to ...

, who are all members of the European Olympic Committee too. Both "bridge Europe" and "Olympic Europe" have 49 members but only 44 match.

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

, and

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

compete as three nations in bridge,

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

and

Faroe Islands The Faroe Islands ( ) (alt. the Faroes) are an archipelago in the North Atlantic Ocean and an autonomous territory of the Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark. Located between Iceland, Norway, and the United Kingdom, the islands have a populat ...

compete as two, but they jointly constitute Great Britain and Denmark Olympic teams. Otherwise

Andorra Andorra, officially the Principality of Andorra, is a Sovereignty, sovereign landlocked country on the Iberian Peninsula, in the eastern Pyrenees in Southwestern Europe, Andorra–France border, bordered by France to the north and Spain to A ...

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan, officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, is a Boundaries between the continents, transcontinental and landlocked country at the boundary of West Asia and Eastern Europe. It is a part of the South Caucasus region and is bounded by ...

Macedonia Macedonia (, , , ), most commonly refers to: * North Macedonia, a country in southeastern Europe, known until 2019 as the Republic of Macedonia * Macedonia (ancient kingdom), a kingdom in Greek antiquity * Macedonia (Greece), a former administr ...

, and

Moldova Moldova, officially the Republic of Moldova, is a Landlocked country, landlocked country in Eastern Europe, with an area of and population of 2.42 million. Moldova is bordered by Romania to the west and Ukraine to the north, east, and south. ...

are in Olympic Europe but do not compete in world bridge.

Lebanon Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...

is in bridge Europe and Olympic Asia. The European "Small Federations" competition, established 2007, is restricted to national teams from federations with no more than 500 members. Twelve to sixteen teams have participated in the first three renditions. Nineteen of the 49 EBL nations appear to be eligible. At the other extreme,

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

and

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

account for half of the 384,000 players. Five other nations constitute another 30%: Italy, Germany, England, Denmark, and Sweden. Thus the seven largest bridge nations have 80% of Europe's registered bridge players.Presumably the role of membership differs across NBFs. The big federations field strong national teams but they do not dominate competition in the open category. In the 2009 Bermuda Bowl, Bulgaria (500 players) placed third in the world and Russia (1000) placed 5th–8th. For the 2011 Bermuda Bowl, Bulgaria and Iceland (1000 players) are two of seven EBL teams in the field. Poland (6500 players) is a "bridge power" in all categories. Forty of the 49 EBL nations entered at least one national team in the 2010 European Team Championships: 38 in the Open category, 28 Women, and 23 Senior teams.

Championships

Perhaps the primary EBL responsibility is to conduct those championships which accord the title ''European champion''.

National teams

The marquee championships for national teams are now biennial in even years. The 2012 rendition was officially the 51st, which recognizes some that predate the EBL. The European Bridge League (est. 1947) has conducted the event from 1948 when competition was resumed after World War II. Previously and first in 1932 it was organized by the International Bridge League, predecessor of the World Bridge Federation (est. 1958). The Open flight was first contested in 1932, the Women in 1935, and the Senior in 1995.

Other

The European Open Bridge Championships are biennial in odd years since 2003. The European Champions' Cup annually since 2002. The EBL organizes youth events annually in July, for youth teams and pairs that represent EBL member countries. The European Small Federations Trophy is contested by teams representing bridge nations with up to 500 members.

Controversy

In the 2021 European championships, Italy included

Fulvio Fantoni Fulvio Fantoni (born 9 November 1963) is an Italians, Italian international contract bridge, bridge player. He is a six-time world champion, a World Grand Master of the World Bridge Federation (WBF), and was the WBF first-ranked player for much o ...

on its team, a player previously sanctioned for cheating. In protest, the remaining national teams refused to play against the Italians and subsequently forfeited their games. Several national bridge associations indicated support for the forfeitures. The Italian Bridge Federation vigorously protested the actions of the forfeiting players and their National Bridge Organizations (NBO) urging that the European Bridge League expel them from the tournament.FIGB Letter to the European Bridge League, 26 August 2021.
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References

Notes

External links

European Bridge League
{{WPCBIndex Contract bridge governing bodies Sports organizations established in 1947 1947 establishments in Denmark