International Ice Hockey Federation Council announced that Russia has been stripped of the hosting rights for 2023 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championships.
This news was announced at Tuesday’s IIHF Council meeting. The tournament was scheduled to be held in Saint Petersburg from May 5th-21st, 2023. A new arena was built as the centerpiece of the marquee showcase.
This is the second IIHF event to be moved from Russia since Ukraine invaded it earlier this year. Russia had been previously set to host 2023 World Junior Championships. Belarus, Russia and Belarus were both banned from international play until further notice in February because of the invasion.
In Tuesday’s statement, the IIHF stated that they had made the decision to move the event out of concern for all players, officials and media. The Council expressed concern about officials’ and players’ safe movement to and from Russia.
The IIHF Annual Congress will announce an alternate host for the 2023 Champion in Tampere, Finland during the last week the 2022 World Champs runs from May 13 through 29.