The Norwegian ice hockey team has announced that it has been eliminated from the World Youth Championship. And they added Russia there.
The Norwegian Ice Hockey Federation has received a letter from the International Federation (IIHF) according to which its national team has been excluded from participating in the World Youth Championship. Norway was promoted to the lower league, and the Russian team received a place in the World Cup.
A statement from the Norwegian federation said the team was excluded because Russia had to be included, and Norway has the lowest ranking of all participating nations. At the same time, the Norwegians emphasize that they are waiting for further clarifications from the IIHF.
There are no announcements about this on the IIHF website. In the official schedule, Norway will play the opening match of the tournament on December 26 against the Czech Republic. Selling tickets to the game.
Since the Court of Arbitration for Sport allowed the Russian team to participate not only in the World Youth Championship, but also in the Senior Championship, which will be held in May, the IIHF can apply the logic of eliminating the weakest team there as well. In the case of the Senior World Cup, that team is Ukraine.
In the photo, the Norwegian team in the match against the Canadian team for the third place in the World Hockey Championship, May 31, 2026. Norway then won the bronze medal.