Groundbreaking decisions at the IIHF Mid-Year Congress I Awarding of the 2026 Women's World Championship

Last week, Nice, France, hosted several events of the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF). In addition to the IIHF Global Hockey Forum, the 2025 Semi-Annual Congress also took place, where important decisions regarding the current season were made and key decisions for the future of international ice hockey were set.

 

Awarding of the 2026 Women's World Cup

A key result of the congress is the awarding of the IIHF Women's Ice Hockey World Championship 2026 an Denmark. The game is played in Herning and a second Danish city yet to be determined. The tournament also marks the start of a new World Cup format: In the future, the participating nations will be divided into two groups based on their world rankings. The eight teams with the highest points in the preliminary round will qualify for the knockout phase. For the first time, the Women's World Cup will not take place in the spring as usual, but in NovemberThis postponement, decided until 2032, will allow the best players from the various international leagues to participate in the World Cup.

 

European Nations Cup

Another pioneering project was launched with the European Nations Cup – a new tournament format for European men's national teams. During the traditional international breaks in November, December and February, 18 European nations in groups of three or four. Participating countries are Germany, Slovakia, Latvia, Norway, Denmark, Austria, Hungary, Poland, France, Slovenia, Great Britain, Italy, Netherlands, Lithuania, Estonia, Spain, Romania and Ukraine. The aim is to establish a sustainable and marketable format that will meet the playful development promotes as well as the Fanbinding between major tournaments. The DEB will play its international matches in accordance with the tournament format as part of the renowned and internationally known Deutschland Cup complete.

 

IIHF Mid-Year Congress

 In addition to the allocation of tournaments in various age groups and divisions, structural adjustments were also a focus of the IIHF Congress. Delegates discussed and voted on changes to Event rules, integrity code, disciplinary regulations and Transfer regulations In addition, the current preparation status for the IIHF Men's World Championship 2026 in Switzerland, a 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan-Cortina as well as the 2030 Olympic Games in the French Alps presented.

Another item on the agenda was the presentation of the new IIHF brandings, which includes a revised visual identity, a new color concept, and its own typography. The Deutscher Eishockey-Bund (DEB) was in Nice by the Chairman of the Board Frank H. Lutz, the Sports Board Christian Kunast and the Chairman of the Supervisory Board Dr. Peter Merten represented.

 

IIHF Global Hockey Forum

 A few days before the IIHF Mid-Year Congress, the IIHF Global Hockey Forum was scheduled, also held in Nice. In three parallel strands on the topics Women's ice hockey, development and marketing Best practices were presented, developments discussed, and relationships with international industry representatives were strengthened at networking events. The Women's Competitive Sports Officer Ronja Jenike, the Head of Team Management Julia Graunke, Head of Marketing, Commercialization & Events Nicholas Rausch and the head coach talent/club support Florian Ondruschka were on the part of the DEB Also present were representatives of the 2027 Ice Hockey World Championship Organizing Company.

 DEB-Sports Director Christian Künast to the IIHF Mid-Year Congress: "The decisions and initiatives adopted at the IIHF Mid-Year Congress set important milestones for the further development of international ice hockey. The Congress also offers a valuable platform for exchange with other associations. We look forward to the coming seasons and the developments initiated in Nice with optimism."

DEB-Women's Competitive Sports Officer Ronja Jenike on the awarding of the Women's World Championship: "A World Championship should always be held with the best athletes – this is now ensured by the new scheduling. Even if a sporting highlight earlier in the season may seem unusual at first, November offers great opportunities for the future – not least due to less competition in the international event calendar."