The decision on the venue for the 2021 Ice Hockey World Championship could be made on January 18. The President of the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) Rene Fasel told TASS about this on Saturday, January 16.
According to him, on January 18, the IIHF council will be held in a videoconference format. If the federation manages to take into account all the nuances, the decision will be made on the same day, but Fasel stressed that the council may need more time.
At the same time, the president of the federation expressed confidence that the final decision on the location of the championship will be made no later than the end of next week.
On January 14, German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas opposed the holding of the Ice Hockey World Championship in Belarus.
Fazel also said at a meeting with President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko on January 11 that due to the political situation in the republic, the federation is under great pressure.
On January 13, Lukashenko said that Belarus is ready for a dialogue with both Latvia and other countries on the hosting of the World Ice Hockey Championship. At the same time, the Belarusian leader said earlier that if Latvia refuses to hold the World Ice Hockey Championship together with Belarus, Minsk will hold it independently and “it will be the best championship in history”.
The 2021 Ice Hockey World Championship is scheduled from May 21 to June 6 in Belarus and Latvia.