The tournament will start in May 2021 and will be co-hosted by Minsk and Rīga under the slogan "Passion. No borders."
Latvia will be host to one of the group stages and two quarter-final games. Group B will also include Canada, Finland, the United States, Germany, Norway, Italy and Kazakhstan.
We have the groups for the 2021 #IIHFWorlds in Minsk?? and Riga?? - an event in about a year from now which we all very much look forward to!
— IIHF (@IIHFHockey) May 20, 2020
Find out more here: https://t.co/Qadi7LAHqi#MinskRiga2021 #hockey #icehockey #хоккей #hokejs pic.twitter.com/FZPM6dLmKP
Meanwhile, Group A, which will be played in Minsk, will be made up of hosts Belarus, Russia, Sweden, the Czech Republic, Switzerland, Slovakia, Denmark and Great Britain. Minsk will host two quarter-final games, both semi-finals and the medal games.
According to the IIHF rankings, Russia was supposed to play in the Riga group and Canada in the Minsk group next year, but the two countries were switched because of hosting rights.
It is also believed that the tournament itself will begin two weeks later than previously scheduled - on May 21, instead of May 7, but this is yet to be confirmed.
