It´s official.
The 2021 IIHF Top Division World Championships will take place only in Riga, Latvia.
All 16 teams will play in a special bubble including two venues only 150 meters apart. No team will be relegated.
The Council of the International Hockey Federation (IIHF) decided on Tuesday that the world championship Top Division will take place only in Riga, Latvia, at the end of May and start of June 2021. The information was confirmed by the official IIHF website.
Nothing has changed at the date of the tournament, it will take place from May 21 to June 6. Originally, the championship was to take place in Minsk, Belarus, but the unfavorable political situation in the country meant that in the first half of January 2021, even under pressure from its sponsors, the IIHF decided to deprive Belarusians of the right to host the world's hockey elite. Immediately afterwards, the search for a substitute venue began, and Bratislava and the Danish Herning also came into play.
However, the IIHF eventually decided to organize the entire tournament only in Riga.
The Preliminary B-group of the tournament will take place in the main stadium, the Riga Arena, the Preliminary A-group also with the Slovak team in the Riga Olympic Sports Center (150meters from Riga Arena), which will also host two quarter-final matches.
The IIHF has decided that the two-fields Daugava Stadium, which is currently being renovated, will be used for trainings for tournament participants. All 16 national teams will be accommodated in one hotel. The IIHF did not make any changes to the tournament schedule and format.
Slovakia will present itself in the preliminary A-group with Russia, the Czech Republic, Sweden, Switzerland, Denmark, Great Britain and newly promoted team Belarus.
The International Hockey Federation also stated that, the tournament is now possible to be organized more easily in the so-called "bubble", as the two competition stadiums are only 150 meters apart and all teams will live in one facility.
"I would like to thank our members from Denmark and Slovakia for their willingness to host the World Championships with minimal preparation. However, the IIHF Council believes that organizing a championship in one country is the best solution. We have the opportunity to prepare a so-called bubble and, if it will be possible, we will be also happy to welcome fans in the stands, "said René Fasel, the incumbent president of the IIHF, on the federation's website.
Since there no lower divisions tournaments this year, it was already confirmed that no team will be relegated from this year championship.