photo: © INTERNATIONAL ICE HOCKEY FEDERATION / ANDREA CARDIN
The 2028 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship is going back to France. Paris and Lyon will be the host cities for the flagship event.
France most recently co-hosted the tournament in 2017, when Paris shared the event with Cologne, Germany. The country was also a co-host of the first standalone IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship in 1930, with games played in Chamonix. 2028 will be the sixth time the event has been staged in France, and the first time Lyon has hosted games.
The 2028 World Championship is set to be the start of an exciting time for French hockey. Later this year the IOC is expected to confirm that Nice will host the 2030 Olympic Winter Games.
“We wanted this very badly,” said Pierre-Yves Gerbeau, President of the French Ice Hockey Federation after the vote at Friday’s IIHF Annual Congress in Prague. “We need it to achieve our very ambitious growth strategy, hopefully in conjunction with the Olympics in 2030.
“We can do it. We will deliver.”
In Paris, games will again be played in the 15,000 capacity Bercy Arena. Lyon’s OL Arena, opened last November with a capacity of 12,500 when it hosts the city’s basketball team, is scheduled to be the second venue.
The schedule for upcoming Men’s World Championships now looks like this:
The lower division competitions for the 2024/2025 Men's World Championships were allocated as follows:
The Chinese Ice Hockey Association and the IIHF will resume the previously agreed plan to stage Division IA in Shenzhen. Following China’s demotion from the top division this season, the CIHA will continue its investment to stage the event and support travel costs for the five European nations competing.
The allocation of the 2026 IIHF Ice Hockey Women’s World Championship scheduled for this congress has been postponed to the IIHF Semi Annual Congress in September.
The 2025 IIHF Women’s World Championship schedule is as follows:
Congress approved St. Paul, USA, as the host for the 2026 World Juniors. The tournament is due to run from 26 December to 5 January.
The 2025 Men’s U20 World Championship schedule is as follows:
The USA will host the Men’s U18s in 2025 in Frisco, Dallas at 23.4. to 03.5.2025 In his speech to Congress, IIHF President Luc Tardif said that an agreement between the NHL and the IIHF over support for this tournament was “nearly there”.
The 2025 Men's U18 World Championship schedule is as follows:
The top division tournament is set for Vantaa, Finland, from 5-12 January. The lower division competitions for 2024/25 Women's U18 World Championships were allocated as follows:
The list of confirmed locations and dates 2026 World Championship events can be found here.
Women’s Olympic Qualification
The three remaining spots for the Women’s ice hockey event at the 2026 Olympic Winter Games will be filled during the 2024/25 season.
This season’s qualifiers follow a familiar format. In each round, three groups of four teams will play a round robin tournament with the winner progressing to the next stage. On Feb. 9, 2025, after the final round, the three group winners will confirm their place at the Olympic Games.
The first round of qualification is scheduled for 7-10 November. Group A features Chinese Taipei, Bulgaria, Croatia and a fourth team TBC. Group B involves Latvia, Lithuania, Romania and Thailand, while Group C sees Iceland, Türkiye, Estonia and Serbia compete.
The second qualification round will run 12-15 December, and the final phase 6-9 February.
The final round of men’s Olympic qualification is scheduled for 28 August – 1 September. Latvia, Denmark and Slovakia will host the decisive competitions.
France most recently co-hosted the tournament in 2017, when Paris shared the event with Cologne, Germany. The country was also a co-host of the first standalone IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship in 1930, with games played in Chamonix. 2028 will be the sixth time the event has been staged in France, and the first time Lyon has hosted games.
The 2028 World Championship is set to be the start of an exciting time for French hockey. Later this year the IOC is expected to confirm that Nice will host the 2030 Olympic Winter Games.
“We wanted this very badly,” said Pierre-Yves Gerbeau, President of the French Ice Hockey Federation after the vote at Friday’s IIHF Annual Congress in Prague. “We need it to achieve our very ambitious growth strategy, hopefully in conjunction with the Olympics in 2030.
“We can do it. We will deliver.”
In Paris, games will again be played in the 15,000 capacity Bercy Arena. Lyon’s OL Arena, opened last November with a capacity of 12,500 when it hosts the city’s basketball team, is scheduled to be the second venue.
The schedule for upcoming Men’s World Championships now looks like this:
- 2025: Stockholm (SWE) and Herning (DEN). 9-25 May.
- 2026: Zurich and Fribourg (SUI). 15-31 May.
- 2027: Dusseldorf and Mannheim (GER). 14-30 May.
- 2028: Paris and Lyon (FRA). 12-28 May
The lower division competitions for the 2024/2025 Men's World Championships were allocated as follows:
- Division IA: Sfantu Gheorghe, Romania, 27 April – 5 May
- Division IB: Tallinn, Estonia, 26 April – 2 May
- Division IIA: Melbourne, Australia, 27 April – 3 May
- Division IIB: Dunedin, New Zealand April 26 – 3 May
- Division IIIA: Istanbul, Türkiye
- Division IIIB: Metepec, Mexico, April 27 – 3 May
- Division IV: TBC at semi-annual congress. Yerevan, Armenia expressed interest in hosting.
The Chinese Ice Hockey Association and the IIHF will resume the previously agreed plan to stage Division IA in Shenzhen. Following China’s demotion from the top division this season, the CIHA will continue its investment to stage the event and support travel costs for the five European nations competing.
The allocation of the 2026 IIHF Ice Hockey Women’s World Championship scheduled for this congress has been postponed to the IIHF Semi Annual Congress in September.
The 2025 IIHF Women’s World Championship schedule is as follows:
- Women’s World Championship: Ceske Budejovice, Czechia, 9-20 April
- Division IA: Shenzhen, China, 9-14 April (tbc)
- Division IB: Dumfries, Great Britain, 9-14 (tbc)
- Division IIA: Bytom, Poland, 7-13 April
- Division IIB: Dunedin, New Zealand, 13-19 April (tbc)
- Division IIIA: Belgrade, Serbia, 2-8 March
- Division IIIB: Sarajevo, Bosnia 20-26 February
Congress approved St. Paul, USA, as the host for the 2026 World Juniors. The tournament is due to run from 26 December to 5 January.
The 2025 Men’s U20 World Championship schedule is as follows:
- Men’s U20 World Championship: Ottawa, Canada, 26 December – 5 January.
- Division IA: Bled, Slovenia, 9-15 December
- Division IB: Tallinn, Estonia, 11-17 January
- Division IIA: Zagreb, Croatia, 6-12 January
- Division IIB: Belgrade, Serbia, 19-25 January
- Division IIIA: Istanbul, Turkiye, 24-30 January
- Division IIIB: Bangkok, Thailand, 10-16 December
The USA will host the Men’s U18s in 2025 in Frisco, Dallas at 23.4. to 03.5.2025 In his speech to Congress, IIHF President Luc Tardif said that an agreement between the NHL and the IIHF over support for this tournament was “nearly there”.
The 2025 Men's U18 World Championship schedule is as follows:
- Division IA: Szekesfehervar, Hungary, 20-26 April
- Division IB: Kaunas, Lithuania, 13-19 April
- Division IIA, Asiago, Italy, 13-20 April
- Division IIB Sofia, Bulgaria, 17-23 March
- Division IIIA Metepec, Mexico, 2-8 March
- Division IIIB Bangkok, Thailand 1-7 March
The top division tournament is set for Vantaa, Finland, from 5-12 January. The lower division competitions for 2024/25 Women's U18 World Championships were allocated as follows:
- Division IA: TBC at semi-annual congress. Hungary has expressed interest in hosting
- Division IB; Katowice, Poland, 7-13 January
- Division IIA: Riga, Latvia, 13-19 January
- Division IIB Istanbul, Turkiye, 18-24 January
- Division III: TBC confirmed at semi-annual congress. Lithuania withdrew its bid in support of Croatia’s intention to host.
The list of confirmed locations and dates 2026 World Championship events can be found here.
Women’s Olympic Qualification
The three remaining spots for the Women’s ice hockey event at the 2026 Olympic Winter Games will be filled during the 2024/25 season.
This season’s qualifiers follow a familiar format. In each round, three groups of four teams will play a round robin tournament with the winner progressing to the next stage. On Feb. 9, 2025, after the final round, the three group winners will confirm their place at the Olympic Games.
The first round of qualification is scheduled for 7-10 November. Group A features Chinese Taipei, Bulgaria, Croatia and a fourth team TBC. Group B involves Latvia, Lithuania, Romania and Thailand, while Group C sees Iceland, Türkiye, Estonia and Serbia compete.
The second qualification round will run 12-15 December, and the final phase 6-9 February.
The final round of men’s Olympic qualification is scheduled for 28 August – 1 September. Latvia, Denmark and Slovakia will host the decisive competitions.