Gateball is a mallet sport similar to Croquet. It is a fast-paced, non-contact, highly-strategic team game, which can be played by anyone regardless of age or gender. Gateball originated in Japan in 1947 and is now played by more than 8 million people in over 15 countries worldwide. Japan and China have strong Gateball associations with millions of registered players. Gateball is making a significant contribution to fostering international friendship among people, transcending national borders and cultural differences. This is a contribution that is becoming increasingly important in today's global society.

Gateball is played on a rectangular court 20-25 meters long and 15-20 meters wide. Courts are generally grass, but can also be clay, gravel or concrete. Each court has three gates and a goal pole. The game is played by two teams (red and white) of five players. Each player has a numbered ball corresponding to their playing order. The odd-numbered balls are red and the even-numbered balls are white. Teams score one point for each ball hit through a gate and two points for hitting the goal pole. A game of Gateball lasts for 30 minutes. The winner is the team that has the most points at the end of the game.