France, Austria Promoted to Top Division of Men's World Championship

The IIHF has announced that France will replace Russia and Austria will replace Belarus at the upcoming men's World Hockey Championship in Finland.

Russia, under the banner of ROC, and Belarus were removed from the tournament earlier this year due to the ongoing invasion of Ukraine. The World Championship is set to take place in Helsinki and Tampere, Finland.

France will assume Russia's spot in Group A in Helsinki, while Austria will take over in Group B in Tampere. The schedule will remain the same, with the two teams replacing the departed countries.

The Division I tournaments, which were set to go with six teams each in Division IA and IB, will revert to five each. The two top teams from that tournament will be promoted to the top division for 2023.

The IIHF will decide at a later date how to incorporate Russia and Belarus into future events.