2026 IIHF Men’s World Championship in Dubai have been cancelled

The International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) have officially announced that the 2026 IIHF Division 2 - Group A Men’s World Championship in Dubai, UAE have been cancelled.

From the IIHF today:

The 2026 IIHF World Championship Division II Group A (WMIIA), originally scheduled to take place in the United Arab Emirates, has been cancelled following a decision by the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF).

As a result, promotion and relegation for the WMIIA Championship will be frozen for the 2026 season. Therefore, there will be no relegation from Division I Group B (WMIB) to Division II Group A (WMIIA) and no promotion from Division II Group B to Division II Group A.

The IIHF remains committed to the continued growth and development of ice hockey worldwide and looks forward to hosting this championship in the future.

The Group was to contain the following teams:

• Australia
• Belgium
• Croatia
• Georgia
• United Arab Emirates

Last week team Australia notified the IIHF that it would not be attending the tournament, presumably due to ongoing military conflicts in the Middle East. The IIHF reportedly considered moving the tournament to Georgia, but instead today they made the decision to cancel it completely.

As mentioned by the IIHF in their statement, this means that essentially all divisions will be frozen as there will be no relegation or promotions in these divisions. That's a tough break for the likes of Bulgaria, Chinese Tapei, Kyrgzstan, Bulgaria, New Zealand, Israel and Iceland, all teams who would have received a promotion with a victory later this month in Sofia, Bulgaria.