Main Sponsor of International Ice Hockey Federation Threatens to Withdraw from World Championship if Russia is Admitted

The Škoda company announced that it would withdraw its sponsorship of the 2027 Ice Hockey World Championship if the Russian national team is allowed to participate in the tournament.

"We consider the return of the Russian national team to the World Championship incompatible with the values we have upheld for a long time. If the Russian national team participates in the World Championship, we will reconsider our involvement in the tournament and take further steps," stated Škoda in a press release.

Škoda first became a sponsor of the Ice Hockey World Championship in 1992, initially as an automotive partner. Just a year later, the car manufacturer became the official general sponsor of the tournament and remains so to this day.

In 2021, Škoda announced that it would withdraw sponsorship of the World Championship if Belarus remained among the host countries for the tournament (along with Latvia). After this, the IIHF (International Ice Hockey Federation) deprived Belarus of the right to host the 2021 World Championship. The tournament took place only in Latvia.

Last week, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) allowed Russian athletes to participate in International Ice Hockey Federation competitions.

Yesterday, the national ice hockey federations of Norway, Denmark, Sweden, Latvia, and the Czech Republic announced that they would refuse to play against the Russian national team at next year's men's World Ice Hockey Championship in Germany, while Canada stated that it would not allow the Belarusian and Russian teams to participate in the World Junior Championship, which is scheduled to take place at the end of December in the province of Alberta.

After the start of Russia's full-scale war against Ukraine, Russian and Belarusian hockey was under an international ban. National teams were suspended from World Championships and Olympics. In the summer, Belarusian junior and women's hockey were reinstated in international competitions, but the youth and national teams remained under sanctions at that time.

It should be noted that, unlike football, where there are full-fledged qualifying tournaments for participation in World and European Championships, where group winners get tickets, and Russia can be added at any moment (for example, the Euro 2028 group draw will take place in early December), the situation in hockey is different.

Ice Hockey World Championships are held in May. The top division consists of 16 teams, divided into two groups of eight national teams. The two weakest teams are relegated to the first division. They are replaced by two teams from the first division.

Thus, in May 2026, Great Britain and Italy left the elite division, and Ukraine and Kazakhstan replaced them.

The composition of the two groups for the 2027 World Championship has already been formed:

A: Finland, Sweden, Switzerland, Germany, Austria, Latvia, Slovenia, Ukraine,

B: Canada, USA, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Denmark, Norway, Hungary, Kazakhstan.

Russia (and Belarus) would either have to be added as ninth teams, or someone with a weaker ranking, like Ukraine and Kazakhstan, would have to be expelled, which could lead to a scandal.

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