It’s now official: Latvia will organise the next Men’s Ice Hockey World Cup on its own, scheduled for May 21 to June 6, 2021. The International Federation (IIHF) has chosen simplicity by entrusting Riga with the meetings initially scheduled in Minsk, in Belarus. Simplicity and sanitary safety, with the sixteen teams involved no longer having to travel between two sites. But for Latvian organisers, the change is not painless. Hosting the entire global tournament is expected to cost them an additional 14-15 million euros, according to TASS. The figure was reportedly released by Latvian Education and Science Minister Ilga Šuplinska. In its initial version, the 2021 Men’s World Cup was expected to cost each of the two host countries around 10 million euros. In Riga, all qualified teams will be accommodated in the same hotel. The matches will be spread over two sites, less than 200 meters apart. As for the question of the presence of the public, it will not be decided before mid-April.
