IIHF plans to make decision on hosts for this year's Ice Hockey WC next week

ZURICH (Switzerland) - The decision of the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) on the organizers of the 2021 Ice Hockey World Championships will be made next week, the president of the organization Rene Fasel revealed to the Russian news agency TASS.

At present, it is still unknown to which country the matches previously planned for Minsk will be entrusted, but one of the options is to entrust the entire tournament to Latvia. Part of the tournament could also be moved to the Slovak capital Bratislava or the Danish city of Herning.

It was originally planned that the IIHF would decide on the organizers of the World Championships earlier this week, but the IIHF needs more time to understand all the nuances and technicalities.

"Given Covid-19 situation, perhaps the best solution is to hold the tournament in one country instead of two. We will make a decision next week. Maybe on Tuesday or Wednesday," TASS quotes Fasel as saying.

Fasel says that discussions are currently underway with Bratislava and Herning as to whether they can host a 16-team tournament, while in Latvia it is necessary to set-up an additional rink for the entire tournament.

"For now, we are in talks with all three parties, but we do not rule out that the tournament coul take place in two countries," said IIHF president.