The preparations are in full swing: Yesterday, Tuesday, the official press conference before Deutschland Cup 2025. From November 5 to 9, 2025, both the German women's national team and the men's national team will compete in intensive tournament matches at the VR-Bank Landshut Arena – with a special focus on the 2026 Olympic Games in February.
A tournament with Olympic relevance
The Deutschland Cup takes on additional significance this year: For the DEB The tournament serves as a decisive test for the preparation for the 2026 Olympics. This perspective gives the Games additional explosiveness and motivates all participating nations to field their best teams in order to be optimally prepared for the new season.
Christian Künast, Sports Director of the DEB: "Many processes have been well-established and proven here at the location, and our national teams have felt at home over the past two years. This is also reflected in the positive feedback from our guests. We are therefore convinced that we will once again host a great tournament with enthusiastic spectators. For the men, it will be the last endurance test before the start of the Olympics, and the women will meet again in December for an event. Both teams want to Deutschland Cup to deliver their best performance and show themselves ready for the big task ahead. For us, it is something very special to travel to Milan with both teams. We are therefore delighted that we are already together in November and can prepare together in front of our home crowds. Fans. "
International field of participants
Four teams will compete in the women's tournament: Germany, France, Slovakia, and Hungary. Latvia, Austria, Slovakia, and the German team will be represented in the men's field. Of particular note: The Latvian team is a newcomer this time, having last participated in the traditional tournament in 2020. DEB at the beginning.
The two German national coaches, Harold Kreis (men) and Jeff MacLeod (women), who was unable to attend today due to a parallel event, will rely on internationally experienced squads to deliver a strong tournament performance and work on fine-tuning for the upcoming tasks.
"For us, it is our home tournament and the final opportunity to come together before the Olympics. Therefore, we want to make the tournament a success. We feel the great joy and enthusiasm among Fans and helpers and want to give that back. We will compete with a good mix – with many experienced athletes who will have the opportunity to prove themselves before the Olympics and some younger players whom we will nominate based on their performance so far this season. We expect intense matches against three strong teams that are at the top international level and have recently proven that," explains National coach Harold Kreis.
Be there live now and secure your tickets
Even though the arena schedule is constantly filling up, attractive ticket packages for the entire tournament (all games) or the tournament weekend (Friday to Sunday) are still available – as are individual tickets for each match day.
Success story Deutschland Cup in Landshut
The city of Landshut is for the third time in a row Venue of the Deutschland Cup with parallel women's and men's tournaments – a clear vote of confidence in the organizers and the excellent infrastructure of the VR-Bank Landshut Arena. With over 20.000 spectators in the previous two years (2023: 20.881 visitors, 2024: 20.012), Landshut has established itself as an ice hockey stronghold.
Alexander Putz, Mayor of the City of Landshut: "For the third time, we are allowed to host this great tournament in Landshut – and everything fits together perfectly. A city passionate about ice hockey with outstanding young talent development, an ideal stadium and this year especially attractive due to the autumn holidays. But this only works with enthusiastic employees in the town hall and a strong partner like the EVL. A big thank you also to the many volunteers and honorary members who are all pulling together. Of course, we hope for a double victory – but this year the Deutschland Cup especially for the preparation for the Olympics. Thanks especially to the DEB for the good cooperation and the trust in choosing Landshut again.”
The organization of the Deutschland Cup is a collaborative effort by many helpers and supporters who look after the well-being of the participating nations and the organization of the games. A total of twelve international matches are scheduled over the five days of the tournament. Off the ice, there are also various association events and meetings surrounding the tournament games, which guests from Germany and abroad attend.
"For the third time, we are privileged to host this international tournament in our living room – and we are really looking forward to this responsibility. It is important for us to show that we are an open partner for such events and to create enthusiasm for our wonderful sport. In addition to our Fans Many prominent guests will also be attending – the entire club is pulling together with passion. We are aware of the enormous organizational effort, but we are committed to hosting a great tournament. The media attention and the tournament itself are particularly exciting for young talent – we see great potential and growing interest, especially in women's ice hockey. This is the future we want to help shape, says Alexander Steiger, 1st Chairman of the EV Landshut.
36th edition with a long tradition
The Deutschland Cup looks back on a successful history: This year's event marks the 36th edition of the tournament, which was first held in 1987. A tradition that continues to this day and regularly attracts top teams to Germany.
Ralf Hantschke, Managing Director of EVL-Spielbetriebs-GmbH: “A tournament of this magnitude brings enormous attention and creates great pride among our FansThe experience creates a strong sense of community and genuine identification. Behind everything lies a great deal of effort and, above all, teamwork. The experiences of recent years have made our processes more routine and professional this year. An international tournament of this magnitude is also an excellent opportunity for our club to showcase ourselves on a big stage."
Arrival and preparation of the German teams
The women's team will arrive on Monday, November 3th, to ensure optimal training. The men's team will follow on Tuesday, November 4th. This will allow sufficient time for intensive training sessions before the start of the tournament. The women's national team aims to defend their title as the current tournament winners of the Deutschland Cup The men's team has won ten tournaments in the history of the competition – but in 2024 they were defeated by Slovakia and finished in second place.
As in the previous year, MagentaSport all tournament games of the Deutschland Cup 2025 live. In addition, the streaming service offers exclusive insights into the changing rooms of both German teams with the coaches’ speeches and other exclusive moments – for Fans an absolute must.