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

Card game

A card game is any game using playing cards as the primary device with which the game is played, be they traditional or game-specific. Countless card games exist, including families of related games...

 of contract bridge

Contract bridge

Contract bridge, usually known simply as bridge, is a trick-taking card game using a standard deck of 52 playing cards played by four players in two competing partnerships with partners sitting opposite each other around a small table...

 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

World Bridge Federation

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

, where it constitutes one of eight "Zones" in world bridge.

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

Lausanne is a city in Romandy, the French-speaking part of Switzerland, and is the capital of the canton of Vaud. The seat of the district of Lausanne, the city is situated on the shores of Lake Geneva . It faces the French town of Évian-les-Bains, with the Jura mountains to its north-west...

, administrative center and secretariat in Milan, Italy. From June 2010 the EBL President is Yves Aubry.

European bridge players are members of the national federations. As of 2010 there are 49 EBL member countries (NBFs) with nearly 400,000 member players. 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

World Mind Sports Games

The first World Mind Sports Games were held in Beijing, China from October 3 to 18, 2008, about two months after the Olympic Games. They were sponsored and organised by the International Mind Sports Association with the General Administration of Sport of China and the Beijing Municipal Bureau of...

, 2008 in Beijing

Beijing

Beijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...

. There were six EBL members in the field of 22 for the last national teams world championship, the 2009 Bermuda Bowl

Bermuda Bowl

The Bermuda Bowl is a trophy awarded to the winners of the Open series in the World Team Championship in contract bridge and is named for the site of the inaugural tournament held in 1950...

, and all six advanced to the 8-team knockout stage.

Members

European Bridge League members are National Bridge Federations and registered European bridge players are members of their national federations. As of 2010 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

Iceland , described as the Republic of Iceland, is a Nordic and European island country in the North Atlantic Ocean, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Iceland also refers to the main island of the country, which contains almost all the population and almost all the land area. The country has a population...

 to Malta

Malta

Malta , officially known as the Republic of Malta , is a Southern European country consisting of an archipelago situated in the centre of the Mediterranean, south of Sicily, east of Tunisia and north of Libya, with Gibraltar to the west and Alexandria to the east.Malta covers just over in...

 to Israel

Israel

The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...

 to Armenia

Armenia

Armenia , officially the Republic of Armenia , is a landlocked mountainous country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia...

, 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

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

, Scotland

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

, and Wales

Wales

Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...

 compete as three nations in bridge, Denmark

Denmark

Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...

 and Faroe Islands

Faroe Islands

The Faroe Islands are an island group situated between the Norwegian Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, approximately halfway between Scotland and Iceland. The Faroe Islands are a self-governing territory within the Kingdom of Denmark, along with Denmark proper and Greenland...

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

Andorra

Andorra , officially the Principality of Andorra , also called the Principality of the Valleys of Andorra, , is a small landlocked country in southwestern Europe, located in the eastern Pyrenees mountains and bordered by Spain and France. It is the sixth smallest nation in Europe having an area of...

, Azerbaijan

Azerbaijan

Azerbaijan , officially the Republic of Azerbaijan is the largest country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded by the Caspian Sea to the east, Russia to the north, Georgia to the northwest, Armenia to the west, and Iran to...

, Macedonia

Republic of Macedonia

Macedonia , officially the Republic of Macedonia , is a country located in the central Balkan peninsula in Southeast Europe. It is one of the successor states of the former Yugoslavia, from which it declared independence in 1991...

, and Moldova

Moldova

Moldova , officially the Republic of Moldova is a landlocked state in Eastern Europe, located between Romania to the West and Ukraine to the North, East and South. It declared itself an independent state with the same boundaries as the preceding Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic in 1991, as part...

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

Lebanon

Lebanon , officially the Republic of LebanonRepublic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies. The term Lebanese Republic, a literal translation of the official Arabic and French names that is not used in today's world. Arabic is the most common language spoken among...

 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

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

 and Netherlands

Netherlands

The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...

 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 latest European Team Championships (2010): 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 2010 rendition was officially the 50th, 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 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.