The2020 Men's Ice Hockey World Championships would have been the 84th such event hosted by theInternational Ice Hockey Federation. Teams would have participated in several levels of competition, including the inaugural competition in the newly created Division IV. The competition would also have served as qualifications for division placements in the2021 competition.
Restructuring by the IIHF led to several changes in the lower divisions of the 2020 World Championships. Division III was renamed Division III-A, the Division III qualification tournament was renamed Division III-B, and Division IV was created, with the latter two tournaments consisting of four teams each instead of the standard six. The bottom two teams in the2019 Division III qualification tournament were assigned to the new Division IV, along with newcomersMalaysia and thePhilippines.
All tournaments were cancelled due to theCOVID-19 pandemic.
The tournament was scheduled to be held inZürich andLausanne,Switzerland from 8 to 24 May 2020. The tournament was cancelled on 21 March 2020 due to theCOVID-19 pandemic.[1]
Belarus – Promoted from Division I-A
Canada
Czech Republic
Denmark
Finland
Germany
Great Britain
Italy
Kazakhstan – Promoted from Division I-A
Latvia
Norway
Russia
Slovakia
Sweden
Switzerland – Host
United StatesThe tournament was scheduled to be held inLjubljana,Slovenia from 27 April to 3 May 2020.[2] The tournament was cancelled on 17 March due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[3]
Austria – Relegated from Top Division
France – Relegated from Top Division
Hungary
Romania – Promoted from Division I-B
Slovenia
South KoreaThe tournament was scheduled to be held inKatowice,Poland from 27 April to 3 May 2020.[2] The tournament was cancelled on 17 March due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[3]
Estonia
Japan
Lithuania – Relegated from Division I-A
Poland
Serbia – Promoted from Division II-A
UkraineThe tournament would have been held inZagreb,Croatia from 19 to 25 April 2020.[4] On 13 March 2020, the tournament was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[5]
Australia
China
Croatia
Israel – Promoted from Division II B
Netherlands – Relegated from Division I B
SpainThe tournament would have been held inReykjavík,Iceland from 19 to 25 April 2020.[4] On 13 March 2020, the tournament was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[5]
Belgium – Relegated from Division II A
Bulgaria – Promoted from Division III
Georgia
Iceland
Mexico
New ZealandThe tournament would have been held inKockelscheuer,Luxembourg from 19 to 25 April 2020.[4] On 13 March 2020, the tournament was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[5]
Chinese Taipei
Luxembourg
North Korea – Relegated from Division II B
Turkey
Turkmenistan
United Arab Emirates – Promoted from Division III BThe tournament would have been held inCape Town,South Africa from 20 to 23 April 2020.[4] On 13 March 2020, the tournament was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[5]
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Hong Kong
South Africa – Relegated from Division III
ThailandThe tournament would have been held inBishkek,Kyrgyzstan from 3 to 5 March 2020. On 2 March 2020, the tournament was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[6]
