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02.05.2020
Ice Hockey ” The worlds will not take place in Switzerland in 2021.
The ice hockey world championship will also not take place in Switzerland in 2021. Swiss Ice Hockey is renouncing its candidacy to the IIHF for next year’s edition which will be held as planned in Latvia and Belarus.
The world championship, which should have started next Friday in Zurich and Lausanne, had to be canceled at the end of March because of the Covid-19 pandemic. The organizers and the president of the IIHF, René Fasel, then issued the option that the competition could take place in Switzerland in a year.
After “intensive discussions” and a “comprehensive risk analysis”, the Swiss organizers rejected the plan. The economic risks being too high, Swiss Ice Hockey justified this decision which was taken by the board of directors and the management board. “After intense clarifications, we had to realize that hosting a world championship in 2021 is not a realistic scenario,” said President Michael Rindlisbacher.
It is not yet it is not possible to estimate the duration of a global crisis and the economic consequences that will result from it. In addition, the global 2021 could not be insured against the risks of a pandemic existing today. “I believe the committee has carefully studied the situation and made the best possible decision,” said Friborg native René Fasel, president of the IIHF. What exactly will be the situation next year? At the moment, we cannot predict it. Would it have been worth taking risks for next year? I do not think so.”
Switzerland would like yet organize a world championship in the years to come. In the coming weeks, the federation will discuss the date on which it wishes to stand again as a candidate for the organization of a world championship. As it stands, all tournaments until 2025 have been awarded. ats
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