The Swiss Ice Hockey Federation (SIHF) on Monday submitted its official candidacy for the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF)’s 2020 World Championship.
Switzerland had previously announced it would bid for 2019, but is now targeting the 2020 edition.
This leaves Slovakia as the only applicant for the 2019 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship.
The SIHF is being supported by international sports marketing company Infront Sports & Media during the candidature phase, building upon their previous successful cooperation for the 2009 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship in Berne and Kloten.
“We are delighted to be entering the candidacy and are confident that we can soon bring the IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship to Switzerland,” said SIHF president Marc Furrer.
“Such an ice hockey festival in our country will further boost our sport. Therefore it is even more important that we can count on Infront for the joint venture.”
If Switzerland’s bid is successful, Infront will manage the organisation and the national marketing of the tournament in a 50/50 joint venture with SIHF.
“We are delighted to support the Swiss Ice Hockey Federation at this early stage already and to jointly lay the foundation for potentially carrying out the event in Switzerland in five years,” said Bruno Marty, executive director winter sports at Infront.
“We will contribute our expertise from many successful consulting assignments and partnerships for past IIHF Ice Hockey World Championships to provide fans, media and sponsors with not only top international sporting events, but also a first-class tournament experience.”
The SIHF’s candidacy documentation, which it has submitted to the IIHF headquarters in Zurich, proposes to use Zurich’s 11,200-seat Hallenstadion as the main venue for the Championship with potential second venues in Lausanne or Zug.
The tournament will take place over three weeks in April/May 2020.
Switzerland, 7th in the World Ranking, has hosted the IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship eight times, four of which were in the Zurich region.
Slovakia, 8th in the World Ranking, hosted its only IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship as an independent country in 2011 in Bratislava and Kosice. Bratislava also co-hosted the 1959 and 1992 World Championships with Prague.
The venues for the 2019 World Championship bid will be named in the upcoming weeks, according to the IIHF. The Slovak Ice Hockey Association announced Bratislava and Kosice as potential candidates in September but has kept its options open.
No other candidate federations have come forward for the 2019 or 2020 World Championships at time of publication.
The host of both the 2019 and 2020 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championships will be announced in May 2015 at the IIHF Congress in Prague, Czech Republic during the 2015 World Championships.
The 2016 World Championships will be hosted in Moscow & St. Petersburg; 2017 in Cologne and Paris; and 2018 in Copenhagen & Herning.
