# 2025 – IFPA State of the Union **Source:** IFPA **Type:** article **Published:** 2026-01-03 **Beat:** Pinball **URL:** https://www.ifpapinball.com/2025-ifpa-state-of-the-union/ --- ## Analysis IFPA reports strong growth in competitive pinball for 2025: 14,038 sanctioned events (+10% YoY), 318,576 total player attendance (+9% YoY), 42,936 unique players (+10% YoY), with 11,827 first-time tournament participants. The World Pinball Player Rankings system continues to expand its reach within the competitive community. ### Key Claims - [HIGH] 14,038 IFPA sanctioned events in 2025, representing 10% growth from 12,776 in 2024 — _Official IFPA announcement with specific year-over-year comparison_ - [HIGH] Total player attendance reached 318,576 in 2025, up 9% from 2024 — _Official IFPA statistics for 2025 season_ - [HIGH] 42,936 unique players participated in IFPA sanctioned tournaments during 2025, up 10% from 2024 — _Official IFPA player participation data_ - [HIGH] 11,827 players participated in their first IFPA sanctioned event during 2025 — _Official IFPA report on new player recruitment_ ### Notable Quotes > "With the 2025 pinball season officially wrapping up tonight, the World Pinball Player Rankings continues to show no signs of slowing down within the competitive pinball community." > — **Josh Sharpe, IFPA**, January 3, 2026 > _Official opening statement framing 2025 as a growth year with sustained momentum in competitive pinball_ > "The IFPA wishes to thank everyone in the competitive pinball community for continuing to support everything we do to spread the world about our incredible sport to the masses." > — **Josh Sharpe, IFPA**, January 3, 2026 > _Closing statement emphasizing community appreciation and IFPA's mission to grow the sport_ ### Entities | Name | Type | Context | |------|------|---------| | IFPA | organization | International Flipper Pinball Association - governing body for competitive pinball | | Josh Sharpe | person | IFPA official who published the 2025 State of the Union report | | World Pinball Player Rankings | product | IFPA's competitive ranking system (WPPR) | ### Topics - **Primary:** Competitive pinball growth and participation metrics, IFPA tournament sanctioning and organization - **Secondary:** Player recruitment and new tournament participant onboarding, IFPA organizational health and community engagement ### Sentiment **Positive** (0.85) — IFPA presents strong growth metrics across all measured categories (events, attendance, unique players, new entrants) with celebratory tone and appreciation for community support. No critical or negative messaging present. ### Signals - **[business_signal]** IFPA reports 10% YoY growth in sanctioned events (14,038 vs 12,776) and 10% growth in unique players (42,936), indicating expanding competitive pinball infrastructure and participation (confidence: high) — Official IFPA State of the Union with specific year-over-year comparisons for 2025 vs 2024 - **[community_signal]** Sustained growth across all metrics (events +10%, attendance +9%, unique players +10%) suggests healthy, expanding competitive pinball community infrastructure and engagement (confidence: high) — Multiple growth indicators all showing positive momentum into 2026 - **[market_signal]** 11,827 first-time IFPA tournament participants in 2025 represents significant new player recruitment into competitive pinball ecosystem (confidence: high) — IFPA reports 11,827 players participating in their first sanctioned event during 2025 --- ## Transcript 2025 – IFPA State of the Union Posted By Josh Sharpe, on January 03, 2026 ![](https://www.ifpapinball.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/2025.png) With the 2025 pinball season officially wrapping up tonight, the World Pinball Player Rankings continues to show no signs of slowing down within the competitive pinball community. We wanted to take a quick look back at the growth we saw during 2025. We’re proud to say that the total number of IFPA sanctioned events for 2024 was 14,038.  This represents a 10% growth from the end of 2024 where we had 12,776 IFPA sanctioned events on the calendar. Total player attendance at those events was 318,576, up 9% from 2024. In addition, the number of unique players that played in an IFPA sanctioned tournament during 2025 was 42,936, up 10% from the number of players that were active during 2024. This included 11,827 players that participated in their first IFPA sanctioned event during 2025. The IFPA wishes to thank everyone in the competitive pinball community for continuing to support everything we do to spread the world about our incredible sport to the masses. Comments Closed Comments are closed. reCAPTCHA Recaptcha requires verification. Privacy \- Terms protected by reCAPTCHA Privacy \- Terms _(Acquisition: web_scrape, Enrichment: v1)_ --- *Exported from Journalist Tool on 2026-04-13 | Item ID: 682baa69-8609-4903-8bcf-ef5bf15982bd*