The International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) plans to bring the Russian team back to the World Championship in 2024, a source close to IIHF governing bodies told .
– The idea of the IIHF is to allow the Russian team to participate in the Junior World Championship, which will start on December 26, 2023 in Gothenburg, Sweden. But for this, in May, at the IIHF Congress, such a decision must be made. And the whole question is how it will be done. Most IIHF members support Russia’s return to the World Championships for commercial reasons. Even Canada and the United States advocate this. Against – a cell from the Czech Republic, Finland, Sweden and the Baltic countries. The problem is that they represent half of the representation on the Council of the International Ice Hockey Federation. But if the decision on Russia in May 2023 is taken by vote of all members at the IIHF congress, then with high probability Russia will be returned to international tournaments.
The IIHF understands how much profit they are missing. The same World Championship in May 2023, if it had taken place in Saint Petersburg in a new arena of 23,000 spectators, could have broken the attendance record. Interest in the tournament is also said to have broken records as each Russia game against countries like Finland, the Czech Republic or Latvia would have had a huge impact. And that’s the money the IIHF is so short of now, a source told .
On Friday, the International Fencing Federation (FIE) approved the return of Russian and Belarusian athletes to competitions under its auspices. If such a return of hockey players is approved by the Congress and the IIHF Council, the Russian team will be able to play in the junior and adult world championships, which will begin on May 10, 2024 and will be held in the Czech Republic.
In February 2022, the IIHF Council suspended the national teams of Russia and Belarus from international competitions indefinitely. The teams missed the 2022 World Cup. Russia was also deprived of the right to host the 2023 World Youth Championships in Omsk and Novosibirsk.
In January, IIHF chief Luc Tardif told that the issue of admitting the Russian team to international tournaments would be discussed at the organization’s annual congress in May.
Source : MatchTV
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