The 2021 men’s Ice Hockey World Championship will run from May 21 to June 6 of next year, the IIHF announced Monday.
The tournament typically starts in the first week of May but the 2021 edition will begin later to give Europe’s professional league more time to finish play after an expected delay from the COVID-19 pandemic.
The 2021 tournament is being co-hosted by Minsk, the capital of Belarus, and Riga, the capital of Latvia and will feature 16 teams competing in two groups of eight. Group A features host Belarus as well as Russia, Sweden, the Czech Republic, Switzerland, Slovakia, Denmark and Great Britain. Group B includes host Latvia, Canada, Finland, the United States, Germany, Norway, Italy and Kazakhstan.
The 2020 edition of the tournament, which was scheduled to be hosted by Switzerland in May, was cancelled due to the pandemic. The IIHF has not said yet whether Switzerland will be given another opportunity to host a future tournament.
“This is a harsh reality to face for the international ice hockey family, but one that we must accept,” IIHF President Rene Fasel said in a statement announcing the cancellation. “The IIHF must do all it can to support this fight. We have to set sport aside for now.”
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