Kazakhstan to launch bid for 2026 Ice Hockey World Championships
On Sunday, according to Sport.ch, President of the German Ice Hockey Federation and member of the IIHF Council Franz Reindl was quoted as saying that Kazakhstan, Great Britain and Norway would intent to host the Championships. In his words, Switzerland is the main contender.
According to Gleb Karatayev, the bid will be launched next year because this year's Congress will be virtual. Kazakhstan has two arenas for 12 thousand seats each in Nur-Sultan and Almaty cities, which often host matches of the Kontinental Hockey League. These two are to host the 2026 Championships in case of winning the bid.
He also stated that if Switzerland wins, Kazakhstan will proceed to bid for the 2027 Championships.
The next International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) Congress is scheduled for 2021, whereas this year's congress slated for June 22 will be virtual.
The 2021 Ice Hockey World Championships will take place in Minsk and Riga, the 2022 Championships - in Helsinki and Tampere (Finland), the 2023 Championships - in Saint-Petersburg, the 2024 Championships - in Prague and Ostrava (the Czech Republic), the 2025 Championships - in Sweden and Denmark (no information on the cities determined yet).