SafekipediaInternational Ice Hockey Federation
Adapted from Wikipedia · Discoverer experience
The International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) is a worldwide governing body for ice hockey. It is based in Zurich, Switzerland, and has 84 member countries. The IIHF is very important because it helps organize international ice hockey games and keeps fair rules for everyone.
The IIHF makes a special list called the IIHF World Ranking to show how good each country's teams are, based on big international tournaments. The rules in IIHF games are a little different from the rules used in North America or by the National Hockey League (NHL). If someone disagrees with a decision, they can ask the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Lausanne, Switzerland, to help solve the problem.
The IIHF also has its own special place to honor great ice hockey players from around the world. This is called the IIHF Hall of Fame. It started in 1997 and since 1998, it has been inside the Hockey Hall of Fame.
In June 2019, the IIHF decided to stop managing inline hockey and will no longer organize the Inline Hockey World Championships. Now, they focus only on regular ice hockey.
Functions
The International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) helps manage and grow ice hockey around the world. It works to keep friendly relationships between countries and makes sure the sport runs smoothly. The IIHF follows specific rules called statutes, bylaws, and regulations to stay organized.
The IIHF also helps young players, coaches, and referees improve their skills. It plans big ice hockey events, including the Olympic Games and the IIHF World Championships. The federation works with local groups to organize these tournaments. It also runs special competitions for European clubs, like the Champions Hockey League and the Continental Cup.
The IIHF is led by a group called the General Congress and a council. The Congress decides the rules and elects the president, who speaks for the IIHF and makes sure its rules are followed. The president is helped by the general secretary, the main employee of the IIHF.
History
Main article: History of the International Ice Hockey Federation
The International Ice Hockey Federation was started on May 15, 1908, in Paris, France. The 1920 Olympics were the first to include hockey.
The 1928 Winter Olympics had a record 11 countries playing. Political events sometimes affected the games. For example, after Hungary was occupied by the Soviet Army in 1956, several countries boycotted the 1957 World Championships in Moscow.
In the 1960s, the IIHF began new tournaments for top club teams and young players. Canada returned to international events in the 1980s after agreeing to let some professional players join.
The IIHF grew a lot in the 1990s as many new countries joined after political changes. By 2008, it celebrated its 100th anniversary.
The IIHF added many new members in the 2000s from places all around the world.
Honors and awards
The IIHF holds an awards ceremony each year during the Ice Hockey World Championship. Before 2024, all awards were given at one event on the last day of the championships.
The IIHF Hall of Fame honors great players, leaders, and officials from the past. It began in 1997 to celebrate important figures in international ice hockey. The first Hall of Fame ceremony happened on the day medals were awarded at the World Championships.
Other awards include the Paul Loicq Award for someone who has helped international ice hockey a lot, and the Centennial All-Star Team chosen in 2008 for players who made a big impact over many years. There are also special awards for youth ice hockey development and for media workers who have covered the sport well. In 2023, the IIHF started giving out player of the year awards for both men and women.
Main articles: IIHF Hall of Fame, Torriani Award, and List of members of the IIHF Hall of Fame
Main article: Paul Loicq Award
Main article: IIHF Centennial All-Star Team
Main article: IIHF All-Time Teams
Main articles: IIHF Male Player of the Year and IIHF Female Player of the Year
| Year | Recipient(s) | Milestone accomplishment(s) |
|---|---|---|
| 2012 | 1972 Canada men's national team 1972 Soviet Union men's national team | Awarded for the 40th anniversary of the 1972 Summit Series between Canada and the Soviet Union. Reuters wrote that Canada was expected to win the series easily, but when they came from behind to win in the eighth and final game, it marked "the beginning of the modern hockey era". |
| 2013 | 1954 Soviet Union men's national team | Awarded for winning the gold medal at the 1954 Ice Hockey World Championships, which was their country's first appearance at the World Championships and the beginning of a rivalry versus the Canada men's national team. |
| 2024 | 1998 Czech Republic men's national team | Awarded for winning the gold medal in ice hockey at the 1998 Winter Olympics, which included victories versus Canada in the semifinal, and Russia in the finals. The 1998 Olympic hockey tournament was also the first the include National Hockey League players. The IIHF reported the gold medal to be "the most important event in the country's history after the 1968 Uprising". |
| 2025 | 2002–03 Denmark men's national teams | Awarded for earning promotion to the World Championships top tier, after 53 years in lower divisions. Denmark won Division I-B at the 2002 Men's Ice Hockey World Championships to play at the 2003 IIHF World Championship, and has remained at the top level since. |
| 2025 | 2006 Sweden men's national team | Awarded for becoming the first men's national team to win an Olympic gold medal and the World Championships in the same year. Sweden gold at both the 2006 Winter Olympics and the 2006 IIHF World Championship, with eight players appearing in both events. |
Tournaments
Men's
Women's
Club
Developmental
Since 2017, the IIHF has organized the IIHF Development Cup to help men's and women's national teams that cannot join the IIHF World Championships improve their skills.
| Tournament | Year | Champions | Runners-up | Third place | Fourth place |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Winter Olympics |  2026 |  United States |  Canada |  Finland |  Slovakia |
| IIHF World Championship |   2025 | United States |  Switzerland | Sweden | Denmark |
| U-20 IIHF World Championship | 2026 | Sweden |  Czechia | Canada | Finland |
| U-18 IIHF World Championship | 2026 | Sweden | Slovakia | Czechia |  Latvia |
| Tournament | Year | Champions | Runners-up | Third place | Fourth place |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Winter Olympics | 2026 | United States | Canada | Switzerland | Sweden |
| IIHF Women's World Championship | 2025 | United States | Canada | Finland | Czechia |
| U-18 IIHF Women's World Championship | 2026 | United States | Canada | Czechia | Sweden |
| Tournament | Year | Champions | Runners-up | Third place | Fourth place |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Champions Hockey League | 2025–26 | Frölunda HC | Luleå HF | Brynäs IF & EV Zug | |
| IIHF Continental Cup | 2025–26 |  Nottingham Panthers |  Kazzinc-Torpedo | Herning Blue Fox |  GKS Katowice |
| Tournament | Year | Gender | Champions | Runners-up | Third place |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| IIHF Development Cup | 2025 | Men |  Puerto Rico |  Liechtenstein |  Portugal |
| 2023 | Women |  Colombia |  Argentina |  Iran | |
Executives and personnel
The IIHF has twenty staff members working at its headquarters in Zurich.
Presidents
Chief Medical Officers
- Wolf-Dieter Montag, Germany (1975 to 1998)
- Mark Aubry, Canada (1998 to present)
| Name | Years |
|---|---|
 Louis Magnus | 1908–1912 |
 Henri van den Bulcke | 1912–1914 |
| Louis Magnus | 1914 |
 Peter Patton | 1914 |
| Henri van den Bulcke | 1914–1920 |
| Max Sillig | 1920–1922 |
| Paul Loicq | 1922–1947 |
| Fritz Kraatz | 1947–1948 |
 W. G. Hardy | 1948–1951 |
| Fritz Kraatz | 1951–1954 |
 Walter A. Brown | 1954–1957 |
| Bunny Ahearne | 1957–1960 |
 Robert Lebel | 1960–1963 |
| Bunny Ahearne | 1963–1966 |
| William Thayer Tutt | 1966–1969 |
| Bunny Ahearne | 1969–1975 |
 Günther Sabetzki | 1975–1994 |
| René Fasel | 1994–2021 |
| Luc Tardif | 2021–present |
Members
Main article: List of members of the International Ice Hockey Federation
As of September 28, 2024, the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) has 84 members.
There are 62 full members, including two that are currently suspended. These countries have special groups for ice hockey and take part in big international competitions every year. Only full members can vote on important decisions.
There are also 21 associate members and 1 affiliate member. These countries either do not have special ice hockey groups or do not join the big competitions often.
| Division | IIHF members |
|---|---|
| Top |      |
| I |          |
| II |            |
| III |             |
| IV |      |
| Division | IIHF members |
|---|---|
| Top | |
| I | |
| II | |
| III | |
| Division | IIHF members |
|---|---|
| Top | |
| I | |
| II | |
| III | |
| Country | Registered players | % of registered players | % of population |
|---|---|---|---|
| United States | 551,006 | 35.44% | 0.166% |
| Canada | 513,674 | 33.04% | 1.361% |
 Russia | 103,101 | 6.63% | 0.071% |
| Finland | 66,687 | 4.29% | 1.204% |
| Sweden | 61,547 | 3.96% | 0.609% |
| Czechia | 34,341 | 2.21% | 0.321% |
| Switzerland | 29,360 | 1.89% | 0.339% |
| Germany | 21,090 | 1.36% | 0.025% |
| France | 18,686 | 1.20% | 0.029% |
| Japan | 16,219 | 1.04% | 0.013% |
| China | 13,388 | 0.86% | 0.001% |
| Great Britain | 13,327 | 0.86% | 0.020% |
| Slovakia | 11,447 | 0.74% | 0.210% |
| Hungary | 8,943 | 0.58% | 0.093% |
| Norway | 8,618 | 0.55% | 0.159% |
| Latvia | 7,898 | 0.51% | 0.419% |
| Austria | 7,232 | 0.47% | 0.080% |
 Belarus | 7,053 | 0.45% | 0.075% |
| Australia | 6,150 | 0.40% | 0.024% |
| Ukraine | 5,341 | 0.34% | 0.012% |
| Denmark | 5,147 | 0.33% | 0.089% |
| Italy | 5,136 | 0.33% | 0.008% |
| Kazakhstan | 4,320 | 0.28% | 0.023% |
| Poland | 3,950 | 0.25% | 0.010% |
| Netherlands | 3,515 | 0.23% | 0.021% |
| South Korea | 3,044 | 0.20% | 0.006% |
| Kyrgyzstan | 2,702 | 0.17% | 0.041% |
| Romania | 2,213 | 0.14% | 0.012% |
| New Zealand | 2,035 | 0.13% | 0.042% |
| Belgium | 1,793 | 0.12% | 0.015% |
| North Korea | 1,700 | 0.11% | 0.007% |
 India | 1,502 | 0.10% | 0.000% |
| Turkey | 1,486 | 0.10% | 0.002% |
| Lithuania | 1,340 | 0.09% | 0.049% |
| Mexico | 1,232 | 0.08% | 0.001% |
| Slovenia | 1,072 | 0.07% | 0.052% |
| Estonia | 995 | 0.06% | 0.075% |
| Argentina | 980 | 0.06% | 0.002% |
| Bulgaria | 945 | 0.06% | 0.014% |
| Spain | 893 | 0.06% | 0.002% |
| Chinese Taipei | 868 | 0.06% | 0.004% |
| Mongolia | 828 | 0.05% | 0.025% |
| Iceland | 752 | 0.05% | 0.220% |
| United Arab Emirates | 695 | 0.04% | 0.007% |
| Serbia | 668 | 0.04% | 0.008% |
| Thailand | 624 | 0.04% | 0.001% |
| Georgia | 598 | 0.04% | 0.015% |
| Hong Kong | 576 | 0.04% | 0.008% |
| Croatia | 520 | 0.03% | 0.013% |
| Israel | 508 | 0.03% | 0.006% |
| Luxembourg | 492 | 0.03% | 0.079% |
| South Africa | 480 | 0.03% | 0.001% |
| Uzbekistan | 421 | 0.03% | 0.001% |
| Kuwait | 402 | 0.03% | 0.009% |
 Ireland | 350 | 0.02% | 0.007% |
| Turkmenistan | 347 | 0.02% | 0.006% |
 Greece | 269 | 0.02% | 0.003% |
 Chile | 250 | 0.02% | 0.001% |
| Bosnia and Herzegovina | 242 | 0.02% | 0.007% |
| Iran | 233 | 0.01% | 0.000% |
 Morocco | 225 | 0.01% | 0.001% |
| Singapore | 220 | 0.01% | 0.004% |
 Lebanon | 208 | 0.01% | 0.003% |
| Puerto Rico | 205 | 0.01% | 0.007% |
| Armenia | 187 | 0.01% | 0.006% |
| Philippines | 185 | 0.01% | 0.000% |
 Qatar | 165 | 0.01% | 0.006% |
| Indonesia | 139 | 0.01% | 0.000% |
 Macau | 121 | 0.01% | 0.019% |
| Colombia | 110 | 0.01% | 0.000% |
| Malaysia | 110 | 0.01% | 0.000% |
IIHF World Ranking
Main article: IIHF World Ranking
The IIHF World Ranking helps show how good each country's ice hockey team is over a long time. The ranking is updated after big tournaments, like the IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship and the Olympic Ice Hockey Tournament.
Related articles
This article is a child-friendly adaptation of the Wikipedia article on International Ice Hockey Federation, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
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