Pétanque in Chile

Pétanque in Chile is organized under the Federación Chilena de Bochas (FECHIBO), a multi-discipline boules federation founded in 1945 that governs bocha sudamericana, bocha zerbín (raffa-volo), and pétanque side by side. Unlike a single-sport national federation, FECHIBO runs a dedicated pétanque rulebook alongside its other disciplines - the same umbrella-federation structure already documented on this site for Italy and Croatia - and has used that structure to host two Pan American pétanque qualifying tournaments in the Valparaíso region since 2023.

History

FECHIBO was founded on 21 October 1945, with Dante Lépori as its first president, to coordinate the boules clubs that had sprung up in Santiago and across Chile's provinces - a sport whose roots in the country trace to Italian and Yugoslav immigrant communities. The federation is affiliated nationally with the Chilean Olympic Committee and internationally with the Confederación Panamericana de Bochas (CPB), the Confederazione Boccistica Internazionale (CBI), and pétanque's world governing body.

Pétanque sits alongside bocha sudamericana and bocha zerbín as one of FECHIBO's official competitive disciplines, each with its own published rulebook - a structural detail worth noting because a casual search for Chilean boules quickly surfaces the raffa/volo side of the federation's work first. Current president Pablo Muñoz Palma, who came to the sport through the Italian Circle in Villa Alemana, has spoken publicly about aligning Chile's pétanque competitions with international regulations and pushing for a stronger Chilean presence at tournaments abroad; he also sits on the World Discipline Commission for bochas.

International Tournaments Hosted

Chile's Valparaíso-region clubs have hosted back-to-back Pan American pétanque qualifiers:

Panamericano de Petancas Limache 2023 ran 6-10 December 2023 at the Bochódromo of Limache's Municipal Stadium, drawing eight nations - Argentina, Canada, Chile, the United States, Mexico, Paraguay, Peru, and the Dominican Republic - to a men's triples competition (7-8 December) that doubled as qualification for the 2024 World Championship in France, followed by a doubles/pairs weekend (9-10 December) including the Open Alfredo Gutiérrez Salas, a 34-team pairs tournament. In the triples qualifier, a round-robin group stage sent Canada and Argentina through to the final, with the United States, the Dominican Republic, host Chile, and Mexico contesting a repechaje for the remaining places. Canada beat Argentina 13-5 in the final, sending Argentina through to Dijon 2024 as the confederation's second qualifier.

Panamericano Clasificatorio de Petancas Iquique 2025 followed almost two years later, held 5-7 November 2025 in Iquique and organized by the Bochas Iquique and Sportiva Italiana de Iquique clubs together with the Municipality of Iquique. Ten nations entered the men's triples field - host Chile, Canada, the United States, Mexico, Venezuela, the Dominican Republic, Bolivia, Paraguay, Peru, and Argentina - competing for three qualifying places at that year's Men's Triples World Championship. Argentina's trio of Ezequiel Pereyra, Juan Roldán, and Néstor Guevara beat Mexico 13-0 to claim the third and final qualifying spot; the full top-two result was not independently confirmed. That World Championship has since changed venue from its originally reported Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia location to Khon Kaen, Thailand, running 20-24 November 2026 - see our 2026 World Championship preview for the full story of that switch.

Chile has also hosted CIEP-FIPJP coaching education on home soil: a Formación de Técnicos de Petancas course ran 13-15 November 2025 at Club Humanitaria in Santiago, taught by French CIEP instructor Claude Raluy and closed out with Pan America Confederation president Frank Guzmán and FECHIBO president Pablo Muñoz Palma, certifying candidates from Chile, Canada, and Paraguay to the FIPJP/CIEP Level 1 diploma.

Federation

FECHIBO is led by president Pablo Muñoz Palma. A current public address, phone number, or email for the federation's pétanque program could not be independently verified for this profile; readers should check fechibo.cl directly for current contact details.