Lord Stanley's five sons were instrumental in bringing ice hockey to Europe, defeating a court team (which included the future Edward VII and George V) at Buckingham Palace in 1895. By 1903, a five-team league had been founded. The "Ligue Internationale de Hockey sur Glace" was founded in 1908 to govern international competition, and the first European championship was won by Great Britain in 1910. The sport grew further in Europe in the 1920s, after ice hockey became an Olympic sport. Many bandy players switched to hockey so as to be able to compete in the Olympics. Bandy remained popular in the Soviet Union, which only started its ice hockey program in the 1950s. In the mid-20th century, the "Ligue" became the International Ice Hockey Federation.