2026 IIHF World Championship Division I
International ice hockey competition
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The 2026 IIHF World Championship Division I consists of two international ice hockey tournaments organized by the International Ice Hockey Federation. Divisions I A and I B represent the second and the third tier of the IIHF Ice Hockey World Championships.[1]
Group A tournament
The Division I Group A tournament will be played in Sosnowiec, Poland from 2 to 8 May 2026.[2][3]
Participants
| Team | Qualification |
|---|---|
 Kazakhstan |
Placed 15th in the Elite Division in 2025 and was relegated. |
 France |
Placed 16th in the Elite Division in 2025 and was relegated. |
 Ukraine |
Placed 3rd in Division I A in 2025. |
 Japan |
Placed 4th in Division I A in 2025. |
 Poland |
Host, placed 5th in Division I A in 2025. |
 Lithuania |
Placed 1st in Division I B in 2025 and was promoted. |
Standings
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | OTW | OTL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kazakhstan |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Promoted to the 2027 Top Division |
| 2 | France |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 3 | Ukraine |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 4 | Japan |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 5 | Poland (H) |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 6 | Lithuania |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Relegated to the 2027 Division I B |
First match(es) will be played: 2 May 2026. Source: [citation needed]
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+2).[4]
| 2 May 2026 12:30 | Japan | v | France | Sosnowiec Arena, Sosnowiec |
| 2 May 2026 16:00 | Lithuania | v | Kazakhstan | Sosnowiec Arena, Sosnowiec |
| 2 May 2026 19:30 | Poland | v | Ukraine | Sosnowiec Arena, Sosnowiec |
| 3 May 2026 12:30 | Kazakhstan | v | Japan | Sosnowiec Arena, Sosnowiec |
| 3 May 2026 16:00 | Ukraine | v | Lithuania | Sosnowiec Arena, Sosnowiec |
| 3 May 2026 19:30 | France | v | Poland | Sosnowiec Arena, Sosnowiec |
| 5 May 2026 12:30 | Lithuania | v | Japan | Sosnowiec Arena, Sosnowiec |
| 5 May 2026 16:00 | France | v | Ukraine | Sosnowiec Arena, Sosnowiec |
| 5 May 2026 19:30 | Kazakhstan | v | Poland | Sosnowiec Arena, Sosnowiec |
| 7 May 2026 12:30 | France | v | Lithuania | Sosnowiec Arena, Sosnowiec |
| 7 May 2026 16:00 | Ukraine | v | Kazakhstan | Sosnowiec Arena, Sosnowiec |
| 7 May 2026 19:30 | Japan | v | Poland | Sosnowiec Arena, Sosnowiec |
| 8 May 2026 12:30 | Kazakhstan | v | France | Sosnowiec Arena, Sosnowiec |
| 8 May 2026 16:00 | Ukraine | v | Japan | Sosnowiec Arena, Sosnowiec |
| 8 May 2026 19:30 | Poland | v | Lithuania | Sosnowiec Arena, Sosnowiec |
Group B tournament
The Division I Group B tournament will be played in Shenzhen, China from 29 April to 5 May 2026.[5][6]
No team will be relegated because of the cancellation of the Division II A tournament.[7]
Participants
| Team | Qualification |
|---|---|
 Romania |
Placed 6th in Division I A in 2025 and was relegated. |
 South Korea |
Placed 2nd in Division I B in 2025. |
 Estonia |
Placed 3rd in Division I B in 2025. |
 China |
Host, placed 4th in Division I B in 2025. |
 Spain |
Placed 5th in Division I B in 2025. |
 Netherlands |
Placed 1st in Division II A in 2025 and was promoted. |
Standings
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | OTW | OTL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Romania |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Promoted to the 2027 Division I A |
| 2 | South Korea |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 3 | Estonia |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 4 | China (H) |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 5 | Spain |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 6 | Netherlands |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
First match(es) will be played: 29 April 2026. Source: [citation needed]
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+8).[8]
| 29 April 2026 12:30 | Spain | v | Estonia | Shenzhen Universiade Sports Centre, Shenzhen |
| 29 April 2026 16:00 | Netherlands | v | Romania | Shenzhen Universiade Sports Centre, Shenzhen |
| 29 April 2026 19:30 | China | v | South Korea | Shenzhen Universiade Sports Centre, Shenzhen |
| 30 April 2026 12:30 | Estonia | v | Netherlands | Shenzhen Universiade Sports Centre, Shenzhen |
| 30 April 2026 16:00 | South Korea | v | Spain | Shenzhen Universiade Sports Centre, Shenzhen |
| 30 April 2026 19:30 | Romania | v | China | Shenzhen Universiade Sports Centre, Shenzhen |
| 2 May 2026 12:30 | Romania | v | Spain | Shenzhen Universiade Sports Centre, Shenzhen |
| 2 May 2026 16:00 | South Korea | v | Estonia | Shenzhen Universiade Sports Centre, Shenzhen |
| 2 May 2026 19:30 | Netherlands | v | China | Shenzhen Universiade Sports Centre, Shenzhen |
| 3 May 2026 12:30 | Estonia | v | Romania | Shenzhen Universiade Sports Centre, Shenzhen |
| 3 May 2026 16:00 | South Korea | v | Netherlands | Shenzhen Universiade Sports Centre, Shenzhen |
| 3 May 2026 19:30 | China | v | Spain | Shenzhen Universiade Sports Centre, Shenzhen |
| 5 May 2026 12:30 | Romania | v | South Korea | Shenzhen Universiade Sports Centre, Shenzhen |
| 5 May 2026 16:00 | Spain | v | Netherlands | Shenzhen Universiade Sports Centre, Shenzhen |
| 5 May 2026 19:30 | Estonia | v | China | Shenzhen Universiade Sports Centre, Shenzhen |