The format for the 2026 World Championship in Kuwait for Division D4 has been announced

The organizers have approved a new tournament format, which will already be implemented at the upcoming 2026 Ice Hockey World Championship in Kuwait. The Division D4 teams are divided into two groups of three national teams each.

Group A
Indonesia
Singapore
Iran

Group B
Armenia
Kuwait
Malaysia

During the group stage, teams from Group A will each play one match against opponents from Group B. Based on these games, the top two teams from each group will advance to the playoffs.

The teams that finish last in their groups will play a two-game consolation round for fifth place.

Thus, the national teams of Armenia and Kuwait will be able to face each other only in the playoffs.

It was previously reported that the new format was planned to be introduced starting in 2027, but the decision was made to apply it already at the upcoming Division D2A and D4 tournaments.

Recall that the previous 2025 Division 4 Ice Hockey World Championship was held in Armenia.