During an extraordinary meeting yesterday, Monday (February 28), the IIHF Council assessed the impact of the current war in Ukraine. The IIHF strongly condemns the use of military force and urges the use of diplomatic means to resolve conflicts.
The IIHF Council decided on the following sporting measures:
– Suspension of all Russian and Belarusian national teams and clubs from participation in all IIHF tournaments or events and in all age groups
– Withdrawal of hosting rights for the 2023 IIHF U20 World Championships (Russia) taking place in December
These two measures were initiated by the IIHF Council to ensure the safety of the World Championships and all participating players, officials and Fans .
Under current conditions, this decision will also impact the following events:
IIHF Continental Cup 2022 (March 04th – 06th, 2022)
- Exclusion of the Belarusian team HK Gomel
2022 IIHF U18 World Championship in Germany (April 21 – May 01, 2022)
- Exclusion of the Russian and Belarusian U18 national teams
2022 IIHF World Championship in Finland (May 13 – 29, 2022)
- Exclusion of the Russian and Belarusian men's national teams
2022 IIHF U18 Women's World Championship (tba)
- Exclusion of the Russian U18 women's national team
2022 IIHF U20 World Championship (tba)
- Exclusion of the Russian U20 national team
2022 IIHF Women's World Championship (August 26 – September 04, 2022)
- Exclusion of the Russian women's national team
Any sporting impact of the IIHF Council's decisions on tournament awarding and promotion and relegation will be announced in the coming weeks. The 2023 IIHF U20 World Championship was scheduled to take place from December 26, 2022 to January 5, 2023. The IIHF will begin discussions in the coming months to find a new host for the event.