- Czechia joined Sweden, Norway, Latvia and Denmark in refusing to play Russia at the 2027 World Championship
- Six of the 16 men’s tournament nations are now on board, with Austria still weighing a boycott
- Read below for the sponsor pressure, Germany’s hosting doubts and what it means for the World Juniors
The Russia boycott just got a lot bigger. Czechia has signed on, and six of the 16 nations in next year’s men’s World Championship now say they won’t play Russia.
Sweden, Norway, Latvia and Denmark all joined Tuesday, one day after Finland started rallying other federations. The Czech federation had said it would wait for a board meeting next week, then committed anyway.
Sweden’s move was the big swing. The federation flipped its stance after its board met, since it had said last week a boycott was off the table. Federation head Anders Larsson was asked about the position and made it clear.
“The Three Crowns will not play Russia in coming world championship tournaments,” Larsson said.
Sweden is not pulling out of the event. Larsson said Swedish sport has a tradition against boycotts, so the refusal covers games against Russia only.
Norway explained its decision in a statement. The federation said Russia should be excluded from every international championship while the war in Ukraine continues, and it pointed to security risks for its players and staff. Denmark’s federation chairman told the Ritzau news agency the same, and Latvia said it “reaffirms its longstanding and firm position” against playing Russia or Belarus.
All of it traces back to the Court of Arbitration for Sport ruling that cleared Russia to return to IIHF events. The IIHF put out its own statement on the decision the day it came down:
The pressure is coming from outside the rinks too. Nokian Tyres said it will stop sponsoring the World Championship if Russia plays, and AJ Products, a sponsor since 1989, will ask that its logo not be shown. Germany’s hockey federation chief has said the country could pull out of hosting next year’s tournament over costs and security.
Austria told the Associated Press it is looking into whether European nations will join a boycott together. Finland is the defending men’s champion and Norway took bronze this year, so the list already carries real weight.
The juniors side is messy as well. Norway’s general secretary Petter Salsten said Norway could be bumped from the World Juniors to make room for Russia, since Norway was the last team to qualify. Turku, meanwhile, already said it would drop its hosting duties if Russia plays. Eurohockey shared the city’s statement:
Czechia is hosting the women’s under-18 world championship in January and said it will talk with its government about whether Russian players would be denied entry. The women’s world championship in Denmark this week is not affected by the ruling and is going ahead without Russia.
The IIHF has not reacted to the boycotts. The World Juniors start next month in Canada, where Russia is set to return first.
