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Koziol: The question of the return of the national teams of Russia and Belarus is not on the agenda of the IIHF

Viesturs Koziols | Photo: Zane Bitere/LETA

The issue of the possible return of the Russian and Belarusian national teams to the competition circuit will not be considered at the semi-annual congress of the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF), IIHF Council member Viesturs Koziols said in a conversation with LETA agency on Wednesday.

“This morning I had a very long conversation with [IIHF prezidentu Liku] Tardifu, we also discussed the information that came out [aģentūrā TASS] about the national teams of Russia and Belarus [iespējamo atgriešanos sacensībās]Koziol said. “Such an issue is not on the agenda of the congress. Tardif said nothing [Krievijai vai Baltkrievijai] has not promised. The competition committee will report under what conditions the national teams of Russia and Belarus could theoretically return to the competition, when and how it could theoretically happen, but this will not be considered at the congress,” explains the former general secretary of the Latvian Hockey Federation (LHF). “This discussion will be only theoretical, I don’t even know what they have prepared.”

“In the Congress, the most important thing will be [IIHF] budget approval. The financial year lasts from July 1 to June 30 and ends after the world championship,” said Koziols. “The second most important point is the approval of the strategic plan. Until now, we were one of the few organizations that did not have an approved development plan. We want to finally do it.” The congress will also hear a report on the 2022 World Championship in Finland, present the 2023 championship in Finland and Latvia, admit Iran to the full IIHF membership, and grant Puerto Rico the status of a temporary member.

As another item that will be discussed at the convention, Koziol mentioned a rule change where the IIHF rules of the game will be aligned with the (National Hockey League’s) NHL rules. Also, some world championships for next year have yet to be approved at the congress. “There are six or seven championships [dažādās vecuma grupās un divīzijās], the venues of which have not yet been confirmed,” explained Latvia’s representative in the IIHF Council. “But this is a purely technical matter.”

This year, the IIHF semi-annual congress will be held in the Turkish city of Belek from September 29 to 30.

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