International Ice Hockey Federation facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
International Ice Hockey Federation

Abbreviation	IIHF
Formation	15 May 1908; 117 years ago (1908-05-15)
Founded at	Paris, France
Type	Sports federation
Legal status	Governing body of ice hockey
Purpose	Sport governance
Headquarters	Zurich, Switzerland
Region served	Worldwide
Membership	82 members
Official languages	English, French, German
President	Luc Tardif

The International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) is the main group that runs ice hockey around the world. It is based in Zurich, Switzerland. The IIHF has 82 member countries that play ice hockey.

This organization keeps track of how countries rank in ice hockey. This is based on how they do in international games. The rules for IIHF games are a bit different from hockey in North America or the National Hockey League (NHL). If there's a disagreement about an IIHF decision, it can be taken to the Court of Arbitration for Sport. The IIHF also has its own special place to honor great international hockey players. This place, called the IIHF Hall of Fame, started in 1997. Since 1998, it has been part of the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto, Canada.

What Does the IIHF Do?

The IIHF Headquarters in Zurich, Switzerland.

The main jobs of the IIHF are to guide, grow, and organize ice hockey everywhere. It also helps countries that play hockey get along well. The federation makes sure the sport is played fairly and in an organized way.

The IIHF sets the rules for international ice hockey. It also handles things like sponsors, advertising, and selling official gear for all its events. A big part of their work is helping young players get better. They also help train coaches and game officials.

The IIHF organizes many important hockey events. This includes the Olympic ice hockey tournaments. They also run all levels of the IIHF World Championships. The federation works with local groups to put on its 25 World Championships each year. These championships are for five different age groups and skill levels.

The IIHF also organizes club competitions in Europe. These include the Champions Hockey League and the Continental Cup.

The main group that makes decisions for the IIHF is the General Congress. The Council is the executive body that carries out these decisions. The Congress decides on game rules and elects the president. The president represents the IIHF and makes sure rules are followed. The General Secretary helps the president.

A Brief History of the IIHF

The International Ice Hockey Federation started on May 15, 1908. It was first called the Ligue Internationale de Hockey sur Glace (LIHG). This happened in Paris, France. Ice hockey was first included in the Olympics in 1920.

The Poland men's national ice hockey team played for the first time at the 1928 Winter Olympics.

The 1928 Winter Olympics was a big event. It was also the World and European Championship that year. A record 11 countries took part in the hockey tournament.

Sometimes, political events affected the championships. For example, some countries boycotted the 1957 World Championships in Moscow. This was because of the Hungarian Revolution of 1956. Canada and the United States led this boycott.

Later, the 1962 World Championship in the U.S. also faced boycotts. The Soviet Union and Czechoslovakia did not attend. This was due to past boycotts and issues with passports.

In the 1965–66 season, the IIHF started the European Cup. This tournament brought together top club teams from Europe. In 1968, they also created the European U19 Championship. This was for younger players. The age limit was later changed to 18 in 1977.

In the 1980s, Canada returned to the World Championships and Olympics. They had stopped playing earlier because the IIHF did not allow professional players. A compromise was reached. Professional players whose NHL teams were out of the playoffs could now play. In return, Canada agreed to join the World Championships again. The Canada Cup tournament was also created as part of this new agreement.

The IIHF kept growing in the 1980s and 1990s. More countries joined because of political changes and hockey's popularity. When the Soviet Union broke up, new countries like Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Ukraine joined. Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania also rejoined. The breakup of Yugoslavia added Croatia and Slovenia. When Czechoslovakia split, the Czech Republic and Slovakia became members. This growth led the IIHF to make the top World Championship tournament bigger. It went from 8 teams to 12 in 1992, and then to 16 in 1998.

In 2008, the IIHF celebrated its 100th birthday. As part of this, the 2008 World Championship was held in Canada for the first time.

More countries joined in the 21st century. These included Chile (2000), Bosnia and Herzegovina (2001), the United Arab Emirates (2001), and many others. By 2022, countries like Jamaica, Qatar, and Puerto Rico had also become members.

The IIHF faced some challenges regarding where to host tournaments. There was criticism for holding the 2014 Men's Ice Hockey World Championships in Belarus. This was due to concerns about human rights in that country. In 2021, the IIHF moved the 2021 Men's Ice Hockey World Championships from Minsk, Belarus, to Riga, Latvia. This was due to safety concerns during political unrest and the COVID-19 pandemic.

In February 2022, the IIHF suspended the hockey federations of Russia and Belarus. This was because of the invasion of Ukraine. In March 2023, the IIHF confirmed that Russian and Belarusian teams would not play in IIHF competitions for the 2023–24 season. This decision was made for safety reasons.

IIHF Hall of Fame

The Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto has been home to the IIHF Hall of Fame since 1998.

Before the IIHF Hall of Fame was created, the IIHF showed historical items in temporary exhibits. From 1992 to 1997, these items were loaned to the International Hockey Hall of Fame in Kingston, Canada.

The IIHF decided to create its own hall of fame in 1996. It was officially approved in 1997. The goal was to honor great international ice hockey players, coaches, and officials. The ceremony to add new members happens each year during the World Championships. In 1998, the IIHF agreed to move its exhibits to the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto, Canada.

IIHF Tournaments

The IIHF organizes many different tournaments for men, women, and clubs.

Men's Tournaments

These are some of the top tournaments for men's national teams:

Current top four per tournament – Current pool: 58 countries

Tournament	Year	Champions	Runners-up	Third place	Fourth place
Winter Olympics	2022	Finland	Russia	Slovakia	Sweden
IIHF World Championship	/ 2023	Canada	Germany	Latvia	United States
U-20 IIHF World Championship	2024	United States	Sweden	Czechia	Finland
U-18 IIHF World Championship	2024	Canada	United States	Sweden	Slovakia

Women's Tournaments

These are some of the top tournaments for women's national teams:

Current top four per tournament – Current pool: 44 countries

Tournament	Year	Champions	Runners-up	Third place	Fourth place
Winter Olympics	2022	Canada	United States	Finland	Switzerland
IIHF Women's World Championship	2024	Canada	United States	Finland	Czechia
U-18 IIHF Women's World Championship	2024	United States	Czechia	Canada	Finland

Club Tournaments

The IIHF also organizes tournaments for club teams:

Current top four per tournament

Tournament	Year	Champions	Runners-up	Third place	Fourth place
Champions Hockey League	2023–24	Genève-Servette HC	Skellefteå AIK	Lukko & Vítkovice Ridera
IIHF Continental Cup	2023–24	Nomad Astana	Herning Blue Fox	Cardiff Devils	GKS Katowice

Developmental Tournaments

Since 2017, the IIHF has also supported the IIHF Development Cup. This cup is for men's and women's national teams that are still developing. These teams might not yet qualify for the main IIHF World Championships.

Tournament	Year	Gender	Champions	Runners-up	Third place
IIHF Development Cup	2024	Men	Ireland	Portugal	Colombia
	2023	Women	Colombia	Argentina	Iran

IIHF Leaders

The IIHF has about twenty staff members working at its main office in Zurich.

Presidents of the IIHF

Here is a list of the people who have been president of the IIHF:

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

IIHF Member Countries

Map of the world with current members of the IIHF. (Red indicates full members, blue indicates associate members, green indicates affiliate members and black indicates suspended members.)

As of 2024, the IIHF has 82 member countries.

There are 60 full members. These countries have a national group just for ice hockey. They also play in the international championships every year. Only full members can vote on IIHF decisions.

There are also 21 associate members. These countries might not have a national hockey group, or they don't play in the international championships very often.

How Many Players Are There?

This table shows how many registered ice hockey players each country has. This includes male, female, and junior players. The numbers are from October 2022.

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

The IIHF World Ranking shows how good a country's national ice hockey team program is over time. This ranking is updated after each IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship and the Olympic Ice Hockey Tournament.

See also

In Spanish: Federación Internacional de Hockey sobre Hielo para niños