The German led the IFI from from 1999 until 2020, when he was elected Honorary President.

Schäfer has been credited with playing a crucial role in the IFI gaining permanent recognition from the International Olympic Committee (IOC) earlier this year.

The IFI was granted provisional recognition in 2018, when Schäfer was still President, and the IOC Session in Tokyo in July voted in favour of an Executive Board recommendation to grant the IFI full recognition.

Schäfer "dedicated his lifetime work" to the sport, current IFI President Christian Lindner said in tribute.

"Whilst the dream of Manfred Schäfer of an Olympic future of icestocksport has yet to become true, we are convinced that we honour his legacy best by pursuing this dream further.

"We take a bow to a tireless fighter for icestocksport. 

"We never will forget him and always honour his memory."

Schäfer's time at the IFI dated back to 1979.

"From 1999 to 2020 he presided over the International Federation Icestocksport that today comprises of 47 National Federations," Lindner recalled.

"Manfred Schäfer has attended all IFI Congresses since 1979 and was elected deputy chair of the Legal and Disciplinary Committee in the same year. 

"Three years later, in 1982, he additionally took on the leadership of the Sports Court of Appeal. 

"His time as President had come in 1999, when he was elected President of the International Federation Icestocksport with a vast majority."

Icestocksport, which is some ways resembles curling, was a demonstration sport at the 2016 Winter Youth Olympic Games in Lillehammer in Norway.

The icestocks - which are slid either at a target or as far as possible, depending on the discipline - have sticks attached.