IIHF bans Belarus’ hockey team from 2026-27 competitions

January 23, Pozirk. The International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) has extended the suspension of Belarusian and Russian national teams from its championships in the 2026-2027 season, its press office reported yesterday.

The IIHF Council said it is not yet safe to reintegrate both teams into competitions “as the current security conditions do not allow the necessary requirements for the organization of tournaments guaranteeing the safety of all.”

However, the IIHF said it will consider the reintegration of youth players (U18) from Russia and Belarus for the 2027-2028 season based on the International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) recommendations. The IIHF linked their return to “ongoing assessment of safety and security conditions.”

“If these risks sufficiently reduce over the coming months, the IIHF will work together with the relevant national associations to support a possible reintegration at the youth level,” the statement said.

The IIHF banned Russia and Belarus from the 2022 and 2023 World Championships after Russia launched its full-scale war on Ukraine in February 2022 with the support of Belarus’ authorities. Both countries were also excluded from the IIHF 2024/2025 championship season.

 In 2021, the Belarusian team showed the second-worst performance at the world championship.

The Belarusian Hockey Federation protested the recent extension of the ban, arguing that it represented continued discrimination against Belarusian hockey teams.

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