The Fives Federation is the official body supporting the games of Fives in the UK, and officially came into being in 2005, as described in the excerpts below.
The earlier loose association known as the Fives Forum, with the full support of both the Rugby Fives Association and Eton Fives Association Boards became known as the Fives Federation on 7th February 2005.
"...an unincorporated association to be known as the "Fives Federation", the principal pupose of which is to promote and develop the game of Fives in all its versions, in England and overseas, and to assist all versions of the game of Fives by promoting co-operation wherever appropriate, avoiding duplication of effort, and increasing the profile of Fives generally."
'Last evening saw the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding between the Rugby Fives and Eton Fives Associations setting up the Fives Federation. The agreement was signed at Queen's Club by the Deputy President of the RFA John East and the Chairman of the EFA Richard Barber. Ian Fuller (General Secretary of the RFA), Mike Fenn (Secretary of the EFA) and Dale Vargas (President of the EFA) were also in attendance.'
The declared aims of the new Federation are outlined in the following paragraphs:
'The Federation will be the public face of Fives, representing all versions of the game when dealing with public bodies, sponsors etc. in any matters affecting Fives generally. It will promote public awareness of Fives as a handball game with a number of distinct codes with benefits for the community as a whole; will seek greater sponsorship and funding of Fives tournaments and other events; will promote the development and funding of new or refurbished Fives facilities of any particular description; and will develop coaching skills to raise standards across all forms of the game.'
'Within the Federation, the roles and constitutions of the EFA and the RFA will be unchanged. They will continue to be the governing bodies of their respective games, responsible for their development strategies, the laws of each game, subscriptions and finance, the development and refurbishment of courts, the organisation of championships and matches, and liaison with their members.'
The Federation was enlarged during 2006 to include representatives from the City Fives Association (One-Wall Fives).