Table tennis is an ideal sport to attract people of all ages, irrespective of gender, culture, social background, or physical ability. It is a very healthy leisure activity with multiple benefits for physical and mental health. At the same time, it is fun.

The ITTF FOUNDATION uses these characteristics, not only to promote our sport and its benefits to a broad and different public, also to foster development through the sport; this means using the sport as a method of attracting more people to play and working with them on different topics to improve their daily life.

“Sport can be, and at best is, one of the most beneficial of human activities, part of the promise of peace and brotherhood, which alone can give us optimism for the future of mankind. It is by being open to meet together – as we in the ITTF have always been – without distinction of race, color, politics or creed that we can get to know each other. It is by viewing together under rules, voluntarily accepted, that we can fairly learn to respect each other’s qualities – ability, courage, character – and that in competition, that should always be serious – earnest – but never taken too earnestly – solemnly, for after all it is play.“ (Ivor Montagu, ITTF Founder President – 1973)

• 27 initiatives supported by ITTF between 2003 and 2017, including Dream Building projects, Youth Leadership Camps, World Table Tennis Day, Manuals and guidelines
• Over 250,000 people reached
• Around 150 countries and independent regions involved
• Hundreds of tables, thousands of rackets, millions of balls distributed
• 27 international citations
  • 7 awards won
  • 3 Mentions d’Honneurs
  • 17 times shortlisted