Norway withdraws bid for hosting 2027 hockey championship due to funding issues

The Norwegian Ice Hockey Federation (NIHF) has formally withdrawn on January 7 its bid to host the 2027 Ice Hockey World Championship.

This was announced by the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) on their official Twitter account.

A lack of funding from the Norwegian government is stated as the main reason for this withdrawal. The Ministry of Culture and Equality, which is responsible for sports in Norway, rejected the application for funding for the bid that foresaw Baerum in the Oslo region as well as Trondheim as venues.

“We are of course disappointed by the refusal without a dialogue beforehand”, said NIHF President Tage Pettersen in a statement. “An Ice Hockey World Championship will be the biggest winter sports event since the 1994 Olympics, and will mean a lot for Norwegian sport. In our application, the NIHF has planned for the reuse of facilities and investment in sustainability”, as reported by TSN. 

Germany and Kazakhstan have now become the frontrunners for winning the hosting rights for the 2027 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship.

🇳🇴 @norskishockey has withdrawn their application to host the 2028 #IIHFWorlds. Germany and Kazakhstan remain in the mix for hosting rights.

Story: https://t.co/VTYSuPvu96 pic.twitter.com/H6mLQ3kIaW

— IIHF (@IIHFHockey) January 7, 2023