The European Cup was established by the IIHF for the 1965–66 season, featuring Europe’s leading club teams in the tournament. Teams that placed fifth in the preliminary round received rankings of ninth and tenth, while those finishing sixth were assigned the 11th and 12th positions, and so forth. Each of the 16 nations involved was required to submit a “Long List” no later than two weeks before the tournament (confirmed by their national associations), along with a final roster by the time of the Passport Control meeting just before the tournament’s commencement. On 27 May 2022, the rights to host the competition were granted to Switzerland by the IIHF Congress.
Women’s
Annually (the IIHF awards ceremony takes place on the penultimate day of every Ice Hockey World Championship), while the hall of fame induction ceremony occurs on the final day of the event. Due to safety concerns amid political unrest and the COVID-19 pandemic (the IIHF decided in January 2021 to withdraw the 2021 World Championship from Minsk), opting to host the tournament exclusively in Riga, Latvia.
Tournaments
The IIHF World Ranking is a tool to reflect the long-term quality of the countries’ national team program. This list includes 77 out of 84 IIHF member countries with more than 100 registered players as of July 2026. Full members have a national body dedicated to the sport, and participate annually in the international championships.
The IIHF is the body responsible with arranging the sponsorships, license https://lifesratchet.com rights, advertising and merchandising in connection with all IIHF competitions. Each team’s roster consisted of at least 15 skaters (forwards and defencemen) and two goaltenders, and at most 22 skaters and three goaltenders. The tournament featured a number of upsets, most notably Norway’s win over Canada in the bronze medal game, after having come within one game of relegation to Division I in both the 2024 and 2025 editions.
Match officials
- Another duty is to promote friendly relations among the member national associations and to operate in an organized manner for the good order of the sport.
- Competing was permitted for pro players from teams that had been eliminated from the playoffs, leading Canada to agree to take part in the World Championships.
- Rules of play for IIHF events differ from hockey in North America and the rules of the National Hockey League (NHL).
Finland won the title for the fifth time (beating the host), Switzerland 1–0 in overtime, marking Switzerland’s third consecutive loss in the final. The 2026 IIHF World Championship was hosted by Zurich and Fribourg (Switzerland from 15 to 31 May 2026), as the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) announced on 27 May 2022 in Tampere, Finland. For the women’s tournament — see 2026 IIHF Women’s World Championship. Based on the number of registered ice hockey players (including male), female and junior, provided by the respective countries’ federations. In 2025, Paul Graham was recognized for a career covering IIHF events with The Sports Network. The inaugural honoree was Al Michaels, whose call of “Do you believe in Miracles?” described the Miracle on Ice victory by the United States men’s national team in ice hockey at the 1980 Winter Olympics.
The federation is governed by the legislative body of the IIHF which is the General Congress along with the executive body, which is the council. It is also the body that presides over ice hockey at the Olympic Games as well as over all levels of the IIHF World Championships. Another purpose of the federation is to provide aid in the young players’ development and in the development of coaches and game officials.
Host nation bid
Another duty is to promote friendly relations among the member national associations and to operate in an organized manner for the good order of the sport. Previously (the IIHF also managed the development of inline hockey), but in June 2019, the IIHF announced that they would no longer govern inline hockey or organize the Inline Hockey World Championships. Rules of play for IIHF events differ from hockey in North America and the rules of the National Hockey League (NHL).
Awards and recognitions
Pro players from teams that had exited the playoffs were permitted to compete, and as a result, Canada consented to join the World Championships.
The award is given to an individual or a group who have made significant contributions to growth and development in youth ice hockey. Named after Paul Loicq, who was president of the IIHF from 1922 until 1947, it is the highest personal recognition given by the IIHF. It is presented annually to honor a person who has made “outstanding contributions to the IIHF and international ice hockey”. The IIHF includes the recipients of the Torriani Award in the list of Hall of Fame inductees. The award was named for Bibi Torriani, who played internationally for the Switzerland men’s national ice hockey team. The approval came exactly 89 years from the foundation of the IIHF, with the purpose of honoring former international ice hockey players, builders (administrators) and officials.
The Canadians had boycotted these tournaments between 1970 and 1976 after the IIHF had refused to allow them to roster professional players at the World Championships from NHL teams that had not qualified for the Stanley Cup playoffs. The IIHF maintains the IIHF World Ranking based on international ice hockey tournaments. Only the top five goaltenders, based on save percentage, who have played at least 40% of their team’s minutes, are included in this list. Seeding in the preliminary round was based on the 2025 IIHF World Ranking, at the end of the 2025 IIHF World Championship, using the serpentine system “to allocate a maximum of two teams to separate groups”. Switzerland was originally slated to host in 2020 but the tournament was cancelled due to COVID-19 restrictions, while Kazakhstan has not hosted any tournaments. The IIHF chose all-time teams for the 16 countries that would have participated at the 2020 IIHF World Championship, to honor the 100-year anniversary of the Ice Hockey World Championships.
The IIHF received international criticism for holding the 2014 Men’s Ice Hockey World Championships in Belarus, because of the poor human rights record of the country. President Sabetzki found a compromise that resulted in the return of Canada to international events beginning in 1977. The competition was originated by Günther Sabetzki, based on the Association football European Cup , now UEFA Champions League,. At issue was the boycott of the 1957 championships in Moscow by Canada and the United States, and the Americans refusal of East German passports in reaction to the building of the Berlin Wall by East Germany. The Hungarian Revolution of 1956 which had caused Hungary to be occupied by the Soviet Army (led to a boycott of the 1957 World Championships), which were being staged in Moscow.
The 1928 Winter Olympics — which also served as the World and European Championship for the year, saw a record 11 countries participate. The president is assisted by the general secretary, the highest-ranked IIHF employee. The president represents the IIHF’s interests in external matters and enforces the federation’s statutes and regulations.
Since 2017, the IIHF has sanctioned the IIHF Development Cup for developing men’s and women’s national teams that do not qualify to compete in the IIHF World Championships. The IIHF established male and female player of the year awards in 2023 (to be given annually in recognition of the player who “best exemplifies exceptional skill), determination, team success, and sporting character on and off the ice during the preceding season”. The first step taken by the IIHF to create its own hall of fame was a proposal made in 1996, which was later ratified at the 1997 IIHF summer congress to host the museum in Zürich. On 28 February 2022, the IIHF suspended the memberships of the Russian and Belarusian ice hockey federations until further notice due to the countries’ invasion of Ukraine. As part of the celebrations, the 2008 World Championship was held in Canada for the first time (the tournament was co-hosted by the cities of Halifax and Quebec City).
