MINSK, 23 March (BelTA) - Head coach of the Belarusian national ice hockey team Mikhail Zakharov suggested that Switzerland should retain the right to host the IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship, BelTA learned from the press service of the Belarusian Ice Hockey Federation.
“The Swiss were preparing for the championship, invested money. But a force majeure happened. They had nothing to do with it. They should retain the retain hosting rights to the men's national team showpiece. We could postpone the schedule to another year, both us and other future hosts. Switzerland needs such an option, and it is right. Ice hockey functionaries will convene for an IIHF congress and decide on the issue. Only they can do it. Whatever they decide, so be it,” Mikhail Zakharov said.
The 2020 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship in Lausanne and Zurich has been canceled due to the ongoing coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. The IIHF said that there were “obviously no possibilities” to relocate the 2020 World Championship to another country due the certainty of the calendar for future editions. “The potential scenario of a postponement of the world championship in Switzerland to another year is a matter that must be discussed within the Congress given the fact that the host countries for the forthcoming IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship are fixed until 2025. Therefore, such a decision will not be forthcoming until Congress is next in session,” the IIHF added.
This year's men's world championship was due to be held in Lausanne and Zurich on 8-24 May. The 2021 edition is scheduled to take place in Belarus and Latvia. The IIHF World Championship is to be hosted by Finland in 2022, by Russia in 2023, by the Czech Republic in 2024, and by Sweden and Denmark in 2025.
