IIHF president René Fasel has held a video conference today with Latvia’s Prime Minister Krisjanis Karins and representatives of the Latvian Ice Hockey Federation to discuss next year’s World Championship.

The showpiece event is due to take place in Riga, as well as Minsk in Belarus, with Great Britain set to play for a second successive season in the top flight.

GB played in the 2019 tournament in Slovakia but last year’s edition in Switzerland was cancelled because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Fasel said: “We had a very positive meeting with representatives from the Latvian government and the Latvian tournament organiser on the subject of the 2021 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship.

“We were honoured to have Prime Minister Karins’ participation in this meeting and are grateful for his valued input into the situation facing Minsk/Riga 2021.”

More details about the conversation can be found on the IIHF website.