2026 IIHF World Championship Division II
| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Host countries | UAE Bulgaria |
| Venues | 2 (in 2 host cities) |
| Dates | 20–26 April 6–12 April |
| Teams | 12 |
The 2026 IIHF World Championship Division II consists of two international ice hockey tournaments organized by the International Ice Hockey Federation. Divisions II A and II B represent the fourth and the fifth tier of the IIHF Ice Hockey World Championships.[1][2]
Group A tournament
| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Host country | UAE |
| City | Al Ain |
| Venue | 1 (in 1 host city) |
| Dates | 20–26 April |
| Teams | 6 |
The Division II Group A tournament will be played in Al Ain, United Arab Emirates, from 20 to 26 April 2026.
This tournament will be played under a new format. The teams were divided into two groups of three using the serpentine system. In the group stage, each team from Group A will face all three opponents from Group B, and vice versa. The top two teams from each group will advance to the semifinals, which will be played as A1 vs. A2, and B1 vs. B2.[3]
Participants
| Team | Qualification |
|---|---|
| Croatia | Placed 6th in Division I B in 2025 and were relegated. |
| Serbia | Placed 2nd in Division II A in 2025. |
| United Arab Emirates | Hosts; placed 3rd in Division II A in 2025. |
| Belgium | Placed 4th in Division II A in 2025. |
| Australia | Placed 5th in Division II A in 2025. |
| Georgia | Placed 1st in Division II B in 2025 and were promoted. |
Group stage
Group A
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | OTW | OTL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Croatia | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Semifinals |
| 2 | Belgium | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 3 | Australia | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Relegation round |
First match(es) will be played: 20 April 2026. Source: IIHF
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) total goals; 4) seeding before tournament.
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) total goals; 4) seeding before tournament.
Group B
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | OTW | OTL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Serbia | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Semifinals |
| 2 | United Arab Emirates (H) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 3 | Georgia | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Relegation round |
First match(es) will be played: 20 April 2026. Source: IIHF
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) total goals; 4) seeding before tournament.
(H) Host
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) total goals; 4) seeding before tournament.
(H) Host
Playoffs
Brackets
| Semifinals | Final | ||||||||
| A1 | |||||||||
| A2 | |||||||||
| B1 | |||||||||
| B2 | Bronze medal game | ||||||||
| Relegation round | ||||||
| A3 | ||||||
| B3 | ||||||
Final standings
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | OTW | OTL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Team 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Champions / Promotion to the 2027 Division I B |
| 2 | Team 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Runners-up |
| 3 | Team 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Third place |
| 4 | Team 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Fourth place |
| 5 | Team 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Fifth place |
| 6 | Team 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Sixth place / Relegation to the 2027 Division II B |
Updated to match(es) played on unknown. Source:
Group B tournament
| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Host country | Bulgaria |
| City | Sofia |
| Venue | 1 (in 1 host city) |
| Dates | 6–12 April |
| Teams | 6 |
The Division II Group B tournament will be played in Sofia, Bulgaria, from 6 to 12 April 2026.
Participants
| Team | Qualification |
|---|---|
| Israel | Placed 6th in Division II A in 2025 and were relegated. |
| Iceland | Placed 2nd in Division II B in 2025. |
| New Zealand | Placed 3rd in Division II B in 2025. |
| Bulgaria | Hosts; placed 4th in Division II B in 2025. |
| Chinese Taipei | Placed 5th in Division II B in 2025. |
| Kyrgyzstan | Placed 1st in Division III A in 2025 and were promoted. |
Standings
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | OTW | OTL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Israel | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Promotion to the 2027 Division II A |
| 2 | Iceland | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 3 | New Zealand | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 4 | Bulgaria (H) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 5 | Chinese Taipei | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 6 | Kyrgyzstan | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Relegation to the 2027 Division III A |
First match(es) will be played: 6 April 2026. Source:
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal difference; 4) head-to-head number of goals scored; 5) result against closest best-ranked team outside tied teams; 6) result against second-best ranked team outside tied teams; 7) seeding before tournament.
(H) Host
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal difference; 4) head-to-head number of goals scored; 5) result against closest best-ranked team outside tied teams; 6) result against second-best ranked team outside tied teams; 7) seeding before tournament.
(H) Host
Results
All times are local (UTC+3).
| 6 April 2026 13:00 | New Zealand | v | Israel | Winter Sports Palace, Sofia |
| 6 April 2026 16:30 | Iceland | v | Chinese Taipei | Winter Sports Palace, Sofia |
| 6 April 2026 20:00 | Kyrgyzstan | v | Bulgaria | Winter Sports Palace, Sofia |
| 7 April 2026 13:00 | Iceland | v | New Zealand | Winter Sports Palace, Sofia |
| 7 April 2026 16:30 | Chinese Taipei | v | Kyrgyzstan | Winter Sports Palace, Sofia |
| 7 April 2026 20:00 | Israel | v | Bulgaria | Winter Sports Palace, Sofia |
| 9 April 2026 13:00 | Israel | v | Chinese Taipei | Winter Sports Palace, Sofia |
| 9 April 2026 16:30 | Iceland | v | Kyrgyzstan | Winter Sports Palace, Sofia |
| 9 April 2026 20:00 | New Zealand | v | Bulgaria | Winter Sports Palace, Sofia |
| 11 April 2026 13:00 | Kyrgyzstan | v | Israel | Winter Sports Palace, Sofia |
| 11 April 2026 16:30 | Bulgaria | v | Iceland | Winter Sports Palace, Sofia |
| 11 April 2026 20:00 | Chinese Taipei | v | New Zealand | Winter Sports Palace, Sofia |
| 12 April 2026 13:00 | Israel | v | Iceland | Winter Sports Palace, Sofia |
| 12 April 2026 16:30 | New Zealand | v | Kyrgyzstan | Winter Sports Palace, Sofia |
| 12 April 2026 20:00 | Bulgaria | v | Chinese Taipei | Winter Sports Palace, Sofia |
References
- ^ "Tournaments, 2026 season". www.iihf.com.
- ^ "A report from the IIHF Congress". www.iihf.com. 26 May 2025. Retrieved 26 May 2025.
- ^ "IIHF to trial new format for lower division tournaments". www.iihf.com.