2027 IIHF World Championship Division IVA to be held in Kuwait: Armenia learn their opponents

The 2027 IIHF World Championship Division IVA will be held in Kuwait. The decision was made at the Congress of the International Ice Hockey Federation, which is taking place in Zurich, Switzerland.

The news was announced by Aram Sargsyan, Secretary General of the Ice Hockey Federation of Armenia.

According to preliminary information, the tournament in Kuwait is scheduled for April 20-26, 2027. Indonesia also bid to host the championship, but the IIHF ultimately chose Kuwait’s application.

Interestingly, Kuwait had been due to host the World Championship in Division IV this year, but that tournament was cancelled. Now the country will have the opportunity to stage the competition in 2027.

Four national teams will compete in Division IVA:

Singapore
Armenia
Kuwait
Indonesia

Thus, Armenia’s national ice hockey team has learned its opponents for the next World Championship. For the Armenian team, this tournament will be an important stage in the fight for promotion to a higher division.

It also became known that the 2027 World Championship Division IVB will be held in Malaysia. Morocco also applied to host the tournament, but the IIHF selected the Asian bid.

Division IVB will feature:

Iran
Malaysia
India
Morocco

The new competition format is also of particular interest. Starting in 2027, the IIHF plans to hold World Championships in the lower divisions with a group stage and playoffs. However, it remains unclear how exactly this format will be implemented in tournaments featuring only four teams.

The final details of the format are expected to be announced later.