The International Hockey Federation (IIHF) has confirmed that Finland and Latvia will host the IIHF World Hockey Championship, which was taken away from Russia due to the war in Ukraine.
According to the decision of the IIHF Congress, the world’s most famous hockey team tournament will be held in Tampere and Riga from 12 to 28 May 2023.
“It is a privilege and we are grateful to co-host the 2023 World Hockey Championships,” said Harri Numila, President of the Finnish Hockey Federation, about the offer of both Baltic states.
The Finnish city of Tampere is the main venue for next year’s tournament, and next year’s tournament will feature one pre-race, two quarter-finals, semi-finals and medals at the Nokia Arena. Arena Riga in the capital of Latvia with 9550 seats is the second track that will be used for the 2023 release, where one preliminaries and two quarter-finals will take place.
“We are pleased with your confidence and are ready to hold the world championship with the best conditions for teams and fans,” said Ijārs Kalvetice, President of the Latvian Hockey Federation. statement, statement Released Friday.
In 2018, St. Petersburg, Russia’s second largest city, won the right to host the IIHF World Hockey Championship, which will take place from May 5 to 21, 2023. Arena in St. Petersburg, one of the largest hockey venues in the country. the world.
However, on April 26, the Council of the International Football Association (IIHF) decided to cancel the tournament from St. Petersburg “in the interests of the safety and well-being of all players, officials, the media and fans”.
Previously, Russian and Belarusian athletes were excluded from some international sporting events, including football and hockey, after the IOC Executive Board recommended a ban to protect the integrity of the events and the safety of other participants.
The move comes in response to Russia’s military action in Ukraine and Belarus’s support for what Moscow calls a “special military operation.”
Russia also lost the right to host next year’s junior world hockey championship in the Siberian cities of Omsk and Novosibirsk.
Russia, which has historically been one of the world’s leading sports nations, is still barred from participating in major international competitions in all other Winter Olympic and many Summer Olympic sports due to the doping scandal. According to a decision of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), Russian athletes are prohibited from playing the national anthem or displaying the national flag.
The world’s largest country is already banned from participating in all major sporting events, including the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar and the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing. However, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) halved the four-year ban, allowing Russians to compete instead of just flying their flag.
