The Minister of Sports confirms Lithuania’s readiness to host the World Hockey Championship

On Wednesday, Šugždiniene discussed this issue with the Minister of Education and Science of Latvia Ilga Šuplinskas (JKP), the Lithuanian Ministry of Education, Science and Sports said.

“Lithuania has never hosted such a level of hockey events, and now we have a historic opportunity. It is necessary to evaluate this opportunity and offer concrete assistance to Latvia,” Šugždiniene was quoted as saying by the Lithuanian ministry in a press release.

“Lithuania has already proven that it is able to organize top-level sports events. Yes, it will be one of the biggest challenges in the history of sports in our country,” stressed Šugždiniene.

She also said that Šuplinska “positively assessed such an opportunity and thanked Lithuania for the proposal”.

Lithuanian public broadcaster LRT previously reported that members of the Lithuanian government had already discussed the issue on Monday.

Some Lithuanian businessmen have already sent a letter to members of the government asking them to consider organizing part of the World Hockey Championship matches in Lithuania.

According to the entrepreneurs, it would be a great opportunity not only to introduce the world to themselves, but also to cover the losses suffered during the quarantine.

Andrjus Žauberis, the manager of the Vilnius “Avia Solutions Group” arena, said that Lithuania could technically organize even the whole tournament, because the stages of hockey championships have already taken place in Lithuania.

In his turn, the President of the Latvian Hockey Federation (LHF) Aigars Kalvītis in a conversation with the agency LETA on Wednesday revealed that the involvement of the Lithuanian side in organizing the World Championship is his first hearing. The former politician allowed the possibility that Lithuanians had tried to express a political position with such statements.

“This is the first time I have heard such information. We have not had any talks with the Lithuanian side,” explains Kalvītis. “I’m not even aware of this informally.”

“It is the decision of the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) to hold the World Cup,” the LHF president said. “I think this is purely speculation. The IIHF will make the final decision on the course of the championship, which already has several possible options. a partner city will come to the rescue. “

Previously, IIHF did not hide that Slovakia and Denmark are also ready to host the World Championship group tournament games scheduled for Minsk. Meanwhile, the Lithuanian Ministry of Education, Science and Sports has revealed to the portal “Delfi.lt” that Vilnius and Kaunas would also be happy to help organize the championship.

“Lithuania has nothing to do with the organization of the Division A World Championship. I think it is a political positioning. Many countries currently use sports for political purposes,” adds Kalvītis. “There has been no such discussion because two Division A countries have already expressed readiness to host the second group.”

Kalvītis also emphasized that infrastructure issues are currently the main task for the Latvian side. The IIHF is committed to providing financial support, but there could be more clarity within a week. Including financial matters.

“The IIHF Council will make the final decision, but it would not be said for the time being that the weight cups are in favor of one side. Also, the IIHF still has to take into account the financial aspect,” explains Kalvītis. “I have neither the authority nor the knowledge of how much money the IIHF is willing to spend.”

“If we talked about the Latvian side, then we are only talking about providing infrastructure,” Kalvītis pointed out.

The LHF president also knew that this year’s U-20 World Hockey Championship in Edmonton, Canada, had cost about ten million euros. The costs of this tournament were partly covered by both Canada and the IIHF.

The Latvian side has already expressed a wish to host the entire championship in Riga, which would mean that fundamental changes must be made at the Elektrum Olympic Center. Kalvitis did not hide that the approximate costs in this regard are known, but they will become relevant only when Riga acquires the right to organize the entire championship.

As reported, Minsk and Riga were to host the 2021 World Hockey Championship this year, but the IIHF deprived Minsk of the rights to host the 2021 World Championship at a Council meeting on Monday.

At present, it is not known to which country the games previously planned for Minsk will be entrusted, but as one of the options, entrusting the entire championship to Latvia is being considered. The IIHF Council will still consider Latvia’s status as a co-organizer. It was previously reported that the World Cup could be hosted in part or in full by Denmark or the Slovak capital Bratislava.

The 2021 World Championship is scheduled for May 21 to June 6. It was previously planned that the championship would start on May 7, but it was postponed a couple of weeks ahead because the national championships in Europe could be delayed.

Riga has hosted the World Championships for the only time so far in 2006.