IIHF president Luc Tardif and a small contingent of people responsible for putting on the IIHF World Championship in Herning and Stockholm recently met with members of the media.
 
A wide range of topics were discussed openly, looking to the current tournament and ahead to the coming years.
 
Joining Tardif on stage were Petr Briza, IIHF Senior Vice-President; IIHF Vice-President Henrik Bach-Nielsen; IIHF Council members Marta Zawadzka and Anders Larsson; and General Secretary of the Organizing Committee Tony Wirehn.
 
Tardif thanked the two Organizing Committees for forging a great partnership to put on a shared IIHF World Championship, something that has been done only five times (2012, 2013, 2017, 2023).
 
Larsson pointed out that the tournament is close to its goal of attracting 500,000 fans for the 64 games in two venues, and that financially the event will make a profit. “I’m very satisfied with where we are and am confident, we can finish the tournament on a positive note,” he enthused.
 
One of the hot topics in the hockey world these days is whether Russia will be playing at the Olympics. The country has been suspended from IIHF competition for safety reasons since 2022, but the IOC runs the Olympic tournament.
 
“The IIHF World Championship is our event,” Tardif explained, “and we met this past February to discuss Switzerland in 2026. We agreed at that time that Russia and Belarus will not be allowed to play. We will meet next February to discuss this again for 2027. We need this lead time because of the promotion-relegation system of our events, as well as ordering the groups and creating a game schedule, which is something we start to work on right after the World Championship is over. And right after that, we have to start ticket sales.”
 
 

“As for the Olympics,” Tardif continued, “the IOC organizes that event. The IIHF is responsible for the competition itself. You certainly understand that 8 months before the Olympic Games it's important for IIHF, OC and the participants to figure out which teams are playing, what groups look like, and what will be the games schedule. To anticipate IIHF Sport Department drew up one schedule that included Russia and one that didn't. In the beginning of May, the IOC send us a request to confirm the final groups and the game schedule following IOC Executive Board of March 2023 recommendation. Means without Russia Participation. There should be an official announcement at one point. In the meantime, the information went from the IOC to the Russian Olympic Committee announcing that they will not participate in the Milan-Cortina Olympic Games.”
 
The other question on everyone’s minds these days in the NHL’s declaration that they want to organize a World Cup every four years, in February, with tournament games in both Europe and North America.
 
“It took us two years of meetings to get NHL players to come to the Olympics again,” Tardif began, “but all that hard work has been worth it, and we have sorted that out, which is great for the game and for the fans. But to have a World Cup in February in Europe, three months before the World Championship, is a big problem for us,” he continued. “February is a vital time for selling tickets for the World Championship, and for fans to have an alternative tournament means the NHL’s World Cup represents a significant competitor. We have a marketing partner for the World Championship, and our contract with them goes until 2034. We can’t possibly be involved in a tournament that competes directly with the World Championship. So, we proposed two alternatives. We said, okay, have the tournament in February, but only in North America, or, have the tournament in Europe, but in September. The NHL didn’t like either of those suggestions, so now we must try to find common ground with our marketing partners and with the NHL.”
 
To clarify, Tardif explained that “the IIHF is a non-profit organization, and our World Championship provides all the income for all our other events. We run more than 30 tournaments a year, all levels of play, as well as symposiums, clinics, and other programs to help grow the game. We have to protect that event, and we hope that the NHL comes to realize just how important that tournament is for developing the game worldwide. It’s a difficult negotiation.”
 
Tardif and Briza answered one specific question about quarter-finals games. There is a unique situation whereby the two host cities might be matched for a QF game based on crossover playoffs, which is the usual and standard tournament format. In that case, however, the quarterfinals will not be sorted by crossover but will instead be played within the group. The logic is simple—the IIHF wants to ensure both hosts have the opportunity to play their QF in front of the home fans. It’s better for ticket sales, and it’s better to promote the game.
 
This year was tricky because the standings were so tight that it wasn’t until the final game of the preliminary round, when Denmark beat Germany to qualify, that the pairings were clearly understood.
 
“Teams sign off on the schedule and know the rules months ahead of time,” Briza explained. “It might be that we can explain this situation to the media and public earlier in the event, but everyone approves this rule when it comes into play, which isn’t very often. In any event, the home organizer always has the quarter-finals game.”
 
“We’ve had this rule since the first time there were co-hosts in 2012 and 2013,” Tardif added, “but now at least for the next five years we will have the World Championship in only one country, so we don’t have to worry about this again for a long time.”