TAMPERE /Finland/, May 27. /TASS/. The International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) has announced that the 2023 Ice Hockey World Championship would be co-hosted by Finland and Latvia, the IIHF press office said in a statement on Friday.

"The 2022 IIHF Annual Congress has allocated tournaments for the upcoming season including the 2023 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship that will be co-hosted by Tampere, Finland and Riga, Latvia," the statement reads.

"The next Worlds will take place at the biggest venues of two of the world’s most passionate hockey countries in Tampere and Riga from 12 to 28 May 2023," according to the federation. "Finland and Latvia are ready to fill in at short notice and will use the organizational experiences and staff from the 2021 and 2022 editions."

Harri Nummela, the head of the Finnish Ice Hockey Federation, was quoted as saying that "It is a privilege and we are grateful to jointly host the 2023 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship."

Latvian Ice Hockey Federation President Aigars Kalvitis.said: "We are happy for your trust and are ready to host the World Championship with the best conditions for the teams and the best atmosphere for the fans."

The global ice hockey federation’s statement added that the Congress also approved on Friday: "Switzerland as host country of the 2026 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship, which will take place in Zurich and Fribourg from 15 to 31 May 2026."

"The Swiss were originally slated to host in 2020 but the tournament got cancelled due to Covid-19 restrictions. No vote was needed as the only other applicant, Kazakhstan, had earlier withdrawn its bid," the global ice hockey body, led by President Luc Tardif, stated.

The IIHF announced in late April a decision to cancel its previously scheduled 2023 Ice Hockey World Championship in Russia’s Saint Petersburg. The global organization also canceled the 2023 IIHF World Junior Championship, scheduled to be hosted by the Russian cities of Novosibirsk and Omsk.

IIHF’s previously planned tournaments in Russia

In September 2018, the Russian city of St. Petersburg was chosen by the IIHF management to host the world championship in 2023, scheduling the dates on May 5-21. The May 2019 IIHF Congress in Bratislava greenlighted this decision.

The Russian bid offered up two arenas in St. Petersburg to host the matches of the ice hockey world championship in 2023. One of them is currently under construction and once completed it may become the biggest ice arena in Europe with capacity seating ranging between 21,500 and 23,000. The other arena in St. Petersburg would have been the Ice Palace, which is currently the home stadium for KHL’s SKA St. Petersburg club and boasts an over 12,300-seat capacity.

The world’s governing body of ice hockey also announced in 2018 that the Siberian cities of Novosibirsk and Omsk would be the venues for matches of the 2023 IIHF World Junior Championship (December 26, 2022 - January 5, 2023).