MOSCOW, June 17. /TASS/. The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) has greenlighted an organization of the World Bandy Championships in Russia in 2021 and 2022 and sent a relevant approval to the Federation of International Bandy (FIB), the press office of the Russian Bandy Federation announced in a statement on Thursday.
The next two FIB World Bandy Championships were scheduled to be hosted by the Russian cities of Irkutsk (in October 2021) and Syktyvkar (in March 2022).
"The Federation of International Bandy, FIB, can now confirm that the two World Championship tournaments in Irkutsk and Syktyvkar next season will be carried out as planned," the press service of the FIB stated on Thursday.
"The World Anti-Doping Agency, WADA, has now given its approval that the tournaments may be decided as exceptions to the current CAS-decision of sanctions," the statement continued. "The World Championship for A-nations in Irkutsk will be held October 11-17, and the World Championship for both A-and B-nations will be held in Syktyvkar March 27-April 3, 2022".
Sanctions against Russian sports
The Court of Arbitration for Sport in Switzerland’s Lausanne partially upheld on December 17, 2020 WADA’s (the World Anti-Doping Agency) previous ruling on a number of sanctions against Russian sports.
According to the CAS decision, Russian athletes were deprived of their right to participate in all World Championships, Olympic and Paralympic Games under the national flag of Russia for a two-year period.
The national anthem of Russia was also prohibited from being played at international sports tournaments over the course of the next two years, even at the upcoming Olympic Games in Japan this summer.
The ruling of the Swiss-based court also stripped Russia of the right to bid for the organization of all international sports tournaments for a period of two years. WADA’s sanctions will be in force until December 2022.
Postponed 2020 Bandy World Championship
The 40th edition of the Bandy World Championship was initially scheduled to be played in the Siberian city of Irkutsk between March 28 and April 5, 2020, however the organizers announced later that due to the COVID-19 pandemic the tournament was suspended indefinitely.
Bandy was officially recognized as a winter sport competition by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in 2001. However, bandy featured as a demonstration sport at the 6th Winter Olympic Games in Norway’s Oslo in 1952 and FIB was officially registered in 1955 by four founding countries, namely Norway, Finland, Sweden and the Soviet Union.