The IIHF notes that, in addition to the political situation in Belarus, the coronavirus pandemic is another factor that could affect both countries’ ability to host the World Cup.
“IIHF will continue to work with the tournament hosts and will do its utmost to maintain the health and safety of players, spectators and officials,” TASS quoted the IIHF press service as saying.
“The IIHF Council will meet again in mid-September to discuss the current situation and provide updates on the status of the tournament,” the press service said.
“The IIHF understands the concerns expressed by the Latvian government. The main goal of the IIHF is still to hold the 2021 World Championships in Minsk and Riga, as decided by the IIHF Council and the annual congress of national associations – IIHF members – in 2017,” the report said. “We are waiting for further announcements by the Latvian government.”
The IIHF points out that there is no timetable for deciding on the 2021 World Cup. “We will continue to work with the organizing committees in Minsk and Riga and maintain close contact with relevant stakeholders in both countries,” the statement said.
On Monday, after an extraordinary meeting of the government, Prime Minister Krišjānis Kariņš (JV) announced his intention to start negotiations with the IIHF on hosting the World Hockey Championship in another country planned for 2021 in Belarus.
Foreign Minister Edgars Rinkēvičs (JV) said that the primary task is to start negotiations with the IIHF, which will be done by the Ministry of Education and Science. He added that if the current situation persists, Latvia will support the transfer of the championship from Belarus to another country.
The IIHF has no plans to move the 2021 World Cup to another venue yet and does not want to make any political statements.
“The situation in Belarus is changing very fast, however strange as it may seem, we are continuing our work, and the Belarusian side is also continuing to work in preparation for the championship,” Edgars Buncis, the head of the Latvian organizing committee, continues the planned work.
According to official preliminary results in the presidential election in Belarus, the current head of state, Alexander Lukashenko, won 80.08% of the vote, while opposition candidate Svetlana Tihanovska won 10.09%, but the opposition believes the election results are fake.
Almost 7,000 people have been detained and hundreds injured in Belarus as violent repression of protests by electoral irregularities and falsification by Belarusian security services. More than 250 victims are being treated in hospitals, and there are also deaths.
The 2021 World Championship, which will take place from May 21 to June 6, is organized by Minsk together with Riga, beating the Finnish cities of Helsinki and Tampere in a fierce battle in May 2017. Group tournaments and two quarterfinals will take place in Riga and Minsk, while the semifinals and the finals will be held in the capital of Belarus.
In 2022, the tournament should be hosted in Finland (Helsinki and Tampere), in 2023 – in Russia (St. Petersburg), in 2024 in the Czech Republic (Prague and Ostrava), and in 2025 – in Sweden and Denmark.
The Minsk World Cup was also hosted in 2014, and at that time the European Parliament called on the IIHF to prevent Belarus from hosting the championship, citing the authorities’ repression against the opposition.
Riga has hosted the World Championships for the only time so far in 2006.
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