Davide Tuniz»eurohockey.com —
Although there is still no confirmed calendar, the World Championship hosted by Belarus and Latvia takes first steps
Last March, in the midst of Covid-19 outbreak, IIHF President Rene Fasel, after the cancellation of 2020 IIHF World Championship in Switzerland, admitted also 2021 edition was in jeopardy: “It is early to speak about the world championship which is to be hosted by Minsk and Riga. We need to track the situation. All further decisions will be taken by the IIHF Council. We have a contract with Belarus and Latvia for next year, and a contract with Finland for 2022. As for today, the next championship is to take place in Belarus and Latvia, but everything can change”
Even if there are no confirmed dates for today, the IIHF Council determined the Groups for 2021 edition based on the IIHF Sport Regulations and the 2020 IIHF Men’s World Ranking,
The Group A, will include Russia, Sweden, Czech Republic, Switzerland, Slovakia, Denmark, host Belarus and United Kingdom. Games will be held at the Minsk Arena (capacity – 15086 spectators)
The Group B will be with Canada, Finland, USA, Germany, host Latvia, Norway, Italy and Kazakhstan, with games will be held at Arena Riga (capacity – 10,300 spectators).The Minsk Arena will serve as the main venue and will host two quarter-finals, the two semi-finals and the medal games. Arena Riga will host two quarter-final matches.
