The International Ice Hockey Federation has confirmed that Russia will not compete in four of its flagship tournaments during the 2026-27 season. Its council made the ruling on Thursday after reviewing a formal request from the Russian Ice Hockey Federation to re-enter international competition, citing ongoing safety, security and sporting integrity concerns.
Russian teams will be absent from the Men’s World Championship, the World Junior Championship, and both the Under-18 Men’s and Women’s tournaments. That ban has been in place since Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Women’s Worlds Decision Deferred to November
One tournament was left off Thursday’s ruling. According to Daily Faceoff, the Women’s World Championship was excluded from the announcement because the event has been moved to a November schedule going forward. Its council would conduct a separate review of Russia’s eligibility for that tournament later in 2026, the IIHF stated, factoring in conditions and a fresh risk assessment at that time.
Four requests were denied outright. Russia had specifically asked to enter all five major competitions, including the Women’s Worlds.
Belarus Gets Partial Reinstatement
Belarus faces a different outcome. The IIHF confirmed that Belarusian teams will be allowed back into three lower-level events — the Under-18 Men’s Worlds, the Division IV Women’s Worlds, and the Under-18 Division III Women’s Worlds. It marks Belarus’s first participation in IIHF competition since 2022, when both countries were suspended following Moscow’s invasion, which Minsk supported.
Belarus’s requests to enter the Men’s World Championship and the World Junior Championship were denied on safety and security grounds. That championship is scheduled to be held in Germany in May.
Participation in the approved Belarus events is not without friction. Latvia has said it will not play matches against Belarus at the Under-18 Men’s Worlds. Lithuania’s federation announced it would withdraw from the Women’s DIII Under-18s if Belarus takes part.
IOC Move Did Not Shift IIHF Position
The ruling arrives shortly after the International Olympic Committee provisionally lifted its suspension of the Russian Olympic Committee earlier in July. That step was interpreted as moving toward Russia’s return to the Olympic movement ahead of the 2028 Los Angeles Games. For ice hockey, the IIHF’s decision goes in the other direction.
The NHL is also monitoring the situation. The league and the NHL Players’ Association, jointly organising the 2028 World Cup of Hockey, have said they will take their cue from bodies such as the IIHF and IOC when deciding whether to permit Russian players to represent their country in that competition.
The ban still holds. Russian NHL players remain ineligible to play for the national team in any IIHF event under the current ban, and that situation will not change before the 2026-27 season begins.
