Although the Winter Olympics in 2026 in Italy is still relatively far away, important issues that will significantly affect Slovakia must be addressed already. Specifically, the participation of Russia and Belarus under the five circles. However, no decision has yet been made about their participation or non-participation in the direction of next year’s Summer Olympics in Paris.
However, the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) had to start with plans for the Olympic qualification. The top eight from the IIHF ranking after the 2023 Ice Hockey World Cup plus the host country, i.e. Italy, advance directly to the Olympics. The remaining three places will be occupied by the successful candidates from the qualifications. Similarly, Slovakia had to fight its way to the Olympics in Beijing, where it finally won bronze.
However, Russia is also in the top eight of the ranking, whose participation has not yet been decided. But the IIHF has already released the Olympic qualification schedule, they haven’t released any news about it, but the Olympic qualifications are on their official calendar.
Ranking IIHF1. Canada
2. Finland
3. Russia
4. USA
5. Germany
6. Sweden
7. Switzerland
8. Czech Republic
9. Slovakia
10. Latvia
And Slovakia should also host one of the final groups, specifically from August 29 to September 1 in Bratislava. However, the Slovaks are in ninth place in the IIHF ranking, and logically, in the event of a decision that Russia will not go to the Olympics, they should have a certain place and should not play in the qualification.
An interesting step was also taken by the IIHF in that it decided to cancel the first group of Olympic qualification and will start only from the second. Several countries such as Australia, Belgium, New Zealand and Luxembourg will not play in the qualification, although they are ranked higher than, for example, Thailand, which is in it.
Second phase groups (14. – 17.12. 2023) – Estonia, Iceland, Bulgaria, Kyrgyzstan
– Holland, Spain, Mexico, Thailand
– Serbia, Croatia, Turkey, Chinese Taipei
These groups are certain as they are also published on the IIHF website. In the third phase, we only know the host cities, but from the fact that Hungary is among them, we can conclude that the IIHF is counting on Belarus to qualify.
The final phase of the qualification is played directly by the teams from the ninth to the seventeenth place of the ranking. Belarus is fourteenth, and if it wasn’t in the qualification, the next country in the ranking should go instead. Eighteenth is Italy, which advances directly as the host country, and nineteenth is Hungary, which hosts the third phase of the qualification. It follows from this that Belarus is tentatively scheduled to play, even in Bratislava.
In addition to Hungary, the third phase will also be hosted in Great Britain and Poland. According to the key, we can sort out these groups, which is also confirmed by the same group of Great Britain, which was published by their union on its website.
Third phase groups (February 8 – 11, 2024) – Hungary, Lithuania, Japan, qualifier
– Great Britain, Romania, China, qualifier
– South Korea, Poland, Ukraine, qualifier
According to the same key according to the ranking, we can also form groups for the final stage of the qualification, including the Slovak one.
Final stage groups (29.8. – 1.9. 2024) – Slovakia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, qualifier (Bratislava)
– Latvia, France, Austria, qualifier
– Denmark, Norway, Slovenia, qualifier
But what will happen when Russia and Belarus will not be able to play in the Olympics after the decision of the International Olympic Committee (IOC)? According to the statement sent to us by the Slovak Ice Hockey Association, our national team should go to the Olympics directly, that is, without qualification.
“We are waiting for the final opinion of the International Olympic Committee, whether the Slovak national team will advance to the Olympic hockey tournament directly, or must go through the qualification. However, if necessary, the Slovak Ice Hockey Association is ready to organize an Olympic qualification, where our national team could compete for participation in the Olympic hockey tournament at home, similar to the one in 2021.”
In this case, the decision rests with the IOC and not the IIHF. If the IIHF also decides that Russia wants to participate in the Olympics, it would not be able to play there in the event of a ban from the IOC.
And if Slovakia advances directly, what would it look like and how would the Olympic qualification change? We have reached out to the IIHF, but have yet to hear back. When we get it, we will update the article.
PHOTO: See also the ratings of all Slovaks in NHL 24 >>
However, the IOC is taking its time, because it has not yet decided on the participation of Russians and Belarusians in the Olympics in Paris, which begin in less than a year. However, he did not send invitations to the Games to both countries.
The decision of the Paralympic Committee, which allowed individual Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete, but not teams, may also indicate something. In the case of a similar decision, the Russians would not be able to go to the Winter Olympics and Slovakia would not have to play in the qualification.
In addition to the decision of the IIHF, the non-(communication) of the IIHF on this topic is also interesting, since it did not publish any explanatory report and we learned this information only from the published program.
2023-10-10 14:10:00
#Slovakia #play #qualification #Olympic #Games #tentatively #date #place #but.. #Sport.sk
