Bandy World Championship

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Bandy World Championship
Current season, competition or edition:
Current sports event 2023 Bandy World Championship
SportBandy
First season1957
No. of teams11 (2023)
CountriesWorldwide
Most recent
champion(s)
 Sweden
(13th title)
Most titles Soviet Union
(14 titles)
Official websiteworldbandy.com
A record twenty countries participated in the World Championships of 2019. Blue means Division A countries, red Division B countries and green the other FIB members. Latvia, which was relegated from Division A in 2016, made a late cancellation in 2017.
The old outdoor arena in Västerås, Sweden, where Finland won in 2004 for the first and only time.
Zinkensdamms IP, Stockholm, Sweden. Venue for the final at the XXVIth championships in 2006
ABB Arena Syd in Västerås, Sweden, host for the XXIXth championships in 2009

The Bandy World Championship is a competition for the men's teams of bandy-playing nations. The tournament is administrated by the Federation of International Bandy. It is distinct from the Bandy World Cup, a club competition, and from the Women's Bandy World Championship. A Youth Bandy World Championship also exists separately from the senior competition and has competitions in both the male and female categories.

The 2020 Bandy World Championship for Division A was scheduled to be played in Irkutsk, Russia in 2020 but was postponed twice due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The 2021 Bandy World Championship for Division A and B was initially scheduled to be played in Syktyvkar, Russia, but was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The tournament was rescheduled for Division B to 8–13 March 2022 and for Division A to 27 March–3 April 2022. However, in response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Finland and Sweden withdrew from the tournament,[1] which was then postponed indefinitely.[2]

History[edit]

Although bandy has been played since the 19th century, the first men's world championships were only played as recently as 1957, and the first women's championships not until 2004.

Before this, friendlies had been played regularly between the Nordic countries. A film from British Pathé created in 1935 called "Ice Hockey At Helsingfors On Sleeve As Ice Hockey At Halsingfors News In A Nutshell (1935)" shows an international bandy match between women bandy players from Finland and women bandy players from Sweden being played outdoors at Helsingfors Ice Stadium (Helsinki) in Finland where the narrator corrects the misconception that it is an international women's ice hockey game. Helsingfors is the Swedish name for Helsinki and comes from the name of the surrounding parish, Helsinge (etymological origin of the Finnish name Helsinki) and the rapids (in Swedish: fors), which flowed through the original town.

A bandy tournament for men was held as a demonstration sport at the 1952 Winter Olympics in Oslo, but this had no world championship status. A four-nation tournament in 1954 for men was played in Moscow, this was the first time the Soviet Union met teams from other countries and the first time the new, jointly agreed rules were used, however this was not called a world championship. The international federation was founded in 1955 by the four countries which had men's national bandy teams who had played in Moscow.

The first ever men's Bandy World Championship was organised in 1957 in association with the 50th anniversary of the Ball Association of Finland, which at the time was the governing body of bandy in Finland. It was played at the Helsinki Olympic Stadium.[3]

From 1961 to 2003, the men's championships were played every two years, but since then has been played annually. (During the period 1972–1990, the Rossiya Tournament was held for national teams in the years when there was no world championship. This was always played in the Soviet Union and arranged by newspaper Sovetskaya Rossiya. It was affectionately called "the small world championship".)

Participating nations[edit]

For a long time, only four countries competed at the world championships: the Soviet Union, Sweden, Finland and Norway, with the Soviet Union the dominating country. More countries have joined the tournaments in recent decades, starting with the United States in 1985. The interest in the sport has spread to other parts of Europe, North America and Asia, and the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 also opened the way for separate national teams from the former Soviet republics. Somalia became the first team from Africa to compete, in the 2014 tournament in Irkutsk.[4] The record number of participants is 20, set in 2019.

Denmark, Switzerland, Armenia and Poland are countries that a few years ago expressed interest in participating in future tournaments.[5] Denmark and Poland have left FIB, while Switzerland debuted in the 2019 edition, as did Great Britain.[6] Armenia wished to participate in the 2011,[7] but was not allowed to, as the tournament format at the time only allowed twelve teams and several more wanted to come. Of the countries which still have not taken part, India was also denied in 2011.[8] Most probably also Lithuania.[9][10] The reason for the 2011 tournament having only eleven teams, was a late cancellation from Australia,[11] another country no longer an FIB member.

With more nations competing, Group B was created in 1991. In 2012 there was a Group C for the first time as 14 countries participated. Group C was abolished in 2013, when instead two sub-groups of Group B were created. In 2014 there were two sub-groups also in Group A, increasing the number of teams in that division from six to eight. The number of groups is not fixed, it is changed from year to year and there are discussions about reinstating a Group C.[12] Japan and Kyrgyzstan attended their first World Championships in 2012, Ukraine joined in 2013, Germany and Somalia made their debuts in 2014, China in 2015, and the Czech Republic in 2016. Russia, Finland, Sweden, Kazakhstan, Norway, USA and Belarus usually play in group A. Until 2011, the best team in group B Went into a playoff match with the team which came bottom of the A-group, replacing them if they won. In 2004 the B-pool was played in a location separate from group A for the first time, at the City Park Ice Rink in Budapest. In 2013 this happened again as Vetlanda hosted the B-pool, whereas Vänersborg was the main venue of the A-pool with three matches played at other locations, Trollhättan, Gothenburg and Oslo. In 2015 and 2016 the tournaments were separated in time while in the same cities. The Division B matches are shorter in time, except for the end matches.

Participation details[edit]

1957-2001
Team 57 61 63 65 67 69 71 73 75 77 79 81 83 85 87 89 91 93 95 97 99 01
 Belarus part of Soviet Union 7th
 Canada 6th 6th 7th 7th
 Finland 2nd 3rd 2nd 4th 2nd 3rd 3rd 3rd 3rd 3rd 3rd 3rd 3rd 3rd 2nd 2nd 3rd 4th 3rd 3rd 2nd 3rd
 Hungary 8th 7th 8th 8th
 Kazakhstan part of Soviet Union 4th 4th 5th 4th
 Netherlands 7th 8th 9th
 Norway 4th 4th 2nd 4th 4th 4th 4th 4th 4th 4th 4th 4th 4th 4th 4th 3rd 5th 5th 4th 5th
 Russia part of Soviet Union 2nd 2nd 2nd 1st 1st
 Soviet Union 1st 1st 1st 1st 1st 1st 1st 1st 1st 1st 1st 2nd 2nd 1st 3rd 1st 1st defunct
 Sweden 3rd 2nd 3rd 3rd 3rd 2nd 2nd 2nd 2nd 2nd 2nd 1st 1st 2nd 1st 3rd 2nd 1st 1st 1st 3rd 2nd
 United States 5th 5th 5th 5th 5th 6th 6th 6th 6th
Total teams 3 4 4 4 4 3 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 5 5 5 8 8 8 9 6 7
2003-2023
Team 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 22 23 Total
 Belarus 6th 7th 6th 6th 6th 6th 6th 7th 7th 6th 7th 6th 6th 8th 15
 Canada 9th 8th 8th 8th 8th 7th 8th 8th 8th 8th 9th 14th 16
 China 15th 16th 17th 12th 18th 5
 Czech Republic 15th 16th 15th 16th 10th 5
 Germany 15th 12th 9th 7th 7th 7th x 7th 7
 Estonia 8th 10th 10th 12th 12th 10th 9th 12th 11th 10th 9th DSQ 14th 11th 9th x 15
 Finland 4th 1st 4th 3rd 3rd 3rd 3rd 3rd 2nd 4th 4th 4th 4th 2nd 3rd 3rd 3rd x 2nd 40
 Great Britain 10th 1
 Hungary 8th 11th 9th 10th 13th 13th 10th 10th 9th 10th 11th 10th 10th 10th 8th 11th 9th 6th 18
 Japan 13th 13th 12th 13th 13th 12th 10th 12th 15th 9
 Kazakhstan 3rd 4th 3rd 4th 4th 4th 4th 4th 4th 3rd 3rd 3rd 3rd 4th 5th 4th 4th x 4th 22
 Kyrgyzstan 14th 1
 Latvia 8th 9th 10th 8th 9th 10th 9th 9th 7th 8th 13th 14th 12
 Mongolia 11th 11th 12th 12th 11th 14th 14th 12th 11th 13th 12th 11
 Netherlands 9th 11th 9th 10th 9th 11th 11th 9th 11th 11th 12th 13th 11th 14th 15th 9th 8th 13th 8th 22
 Norway 5th 5th 5th 5th 5th 5th 5th 5th 5th 5th 5th 5th 5th 5th 4th 6th 5th x 3rd 38
 Russia 2nd 3rd 2nd 1st 1st 1st 2nd 2nd 1st 2nd 1st 1st 1st 1st 2nd 1st 1st x 22
 Slovakia 15th 16th 11th 9th 4
 Somalia 17th 16th 17th 18th 16th 20th 18th 7
 Sweden 1st 2nd 1st 2nd 2nd 2nd 1st 1st 3rd 1st 2nd 2nd 2nd 3rd 1st 2nd 2nd x 1st 40
  Switzerland 19th 17th 11th 3
 Ukraine 14th 16th 11th 13th 14th 17th 10th 7
 United States 7th 6th 7th 7th 7th 7th 7th 6th 6th 6th 7th 6th 8th 7th 6th 5th 6th x 5th 27
Total teams 9 11 11 12 12 13 13 11 11 14 14 17 16 18 18 16 20 10 (18*) 0 11

*18 teams were enrolled in 2020, but only 10 (the B division) could participate (teams marked with "x" could not participate).

Competition format[edit]

Originally, the competition was played as an all-meet-all round-robin tournament. Starting in 1983, semifinals and a final was added to follow the round-robin stage.

When the number of participating nations increased, the championship was split up in two groups from 2003 onwards, A and B, with the better teams in Group A. The winner of Group B for some years played a game against the least successful team of Group A to determine qualification for Group A for next year, but in 2016, 2017, and 2018 winning Group B has been directly qualifying for group A for the following year while the last placed team of Group A is automatically relegated to Group B.

Broadcasting[edit]

The interest is biggest in Sweden, Finland and Russia.[13] For a few times now it has been shown on Eurosport 2.

The games are also viewable via online streaming.

Results[edit]

No. Year Host
Final venue (host city) * Gold medal Result Silver medal Bronze medal Result Fourth place Teams
I 1957
Details
 Finland Olympic Stadium (Helsinki)
Soviet Union
Round-robin
(6–1)

Finland

Sweden
Round-robin Only three teams participated 3
II 1961
Details
 Norway Bislett Stadium (Oslo)
Soviet Union
Round-robin
(2–1)

Sweden

Finland
Round-robin
(4–3)

Norway
4
III 1963
Details
 Sweden Skogsvallen (Nässjö)
Soviet Union
Round-robin
(6–1)

Finland

Sweden
Round-robin
(12–0)

Norway
4
IV 1965
Details
 Soviet Union Central Stadium (Sverdlovsk)
Soviet Union
Round-robin
(4–0)

Norway

Sweden
Round-robin
(1–2)

Finland
4
V 1967
Details
 Finland Raatti Stadium (Oulu)
Soviet Union
Round-robin
(1–1)

Finland

Sweden
Round-robin
(2–1)

Norway
4
VI 1969
Details
 Sweden Vinterstadion (Örebro) and Studenternas IP (Uppsala)
Soviet Union
Round-robin
(4–2, 2–1)

Sweden

Finland
Round-robin Only three teams participated 3
VII 1971
Details
 Sweden Vinterstadion (Örebro) and Söderstadion (Stockholm)
Soviet Union
Round-robin
(2–2, 2–1)

Sweden

Finland
Round-robin
(6–1, 7–1)

Norway
4
VIII 1973
Details
 Soviet Union Central Dynamo Stadium (Moscow)
Soviet Union
Round-robin
(5–1, 1–0)

Sweden

Finland
Round-robin
(3–2, 3–4)

Norway
4
IX 1975
Details
 Finland Pohjan stadion (Tornio) and Hänninhauta (Mikkeli)
Soviet Union
Round-robin
(1–3, 7–2)

Sweden

Finland
Round-robin
(2–1, 2–2)

Norway
4
X 1977
Details
 Norway Valle Hovin (Oslo) and Marienlyst Stadion (Drammen)
Soviet Union
Round-robin
(2–3, 3–2)

Sweden

Finland
Round-robin
(5–1, 2–4)

Norway
4
XI 1979
Details
 Sweden Vänersborgs isstadion (Vänersborg) and Spånga IP (Stockholm)
Soviet Union
Round-robin
(4–3, 4–2)

Sweden

Finland
Round-robin
(8–2, 6–2)

Norway
4
XII 1981
Details
 Soviet Union Central Lenin Stadium (Khabarovsk)
Sweden
Round-robin
(6–1, 1–3)

Soviet Union

Finland
Round-robin
(6–1, 5–1)

Norway
4
XIII 1983
Details
 Finland Oulunkylä Ice Rink (Helsinki)
Sweden
9–3
Soviet Union

Finland
4–1
Norway
4
XIV 1985
Details
 Norway Valle Hovin (Oslo)
Soviet Union
5–4
(a.e.t.)

Sweden

Finland
6–2
Norway
5
XV 1987
Details
 Sweden Söderstadion (Stockholm)
Sweden
7–2
Finland

Soviet Union
11–3
Norway
5
XVI 1989
Details
 Soviet Union Olympic Stadium (Moscow)
Soviet Union
12–2
Finland

Sweden
6–0
Norway
5
XVII 1991
Details
 Finland Oulunkylä Ice Rink (Helsinki)
Soviet Union
4–3
Sweden

Finland
8–0
Norway
8
XVIII 1993
Details
 Norway Hamar Olympic Hall (Hamar)
Sweden
8–0
Russia

Norway
5–3
Finland
8
XIX 1995
Details
 United States John Rose Minnesota Oval (Roseville)
Sweden
6–4
Russia

Finland
3–2
Kazakhstan
8
XX 1997
Details
 Sweden Rocklunda IP (Västerås)
Sweden
10–5
Russia

Finland
9–3
Kazakhstan
9
XXI 1999
Details
 Russia Trud Stadium (Arkhangelsk)
Russia
5–0
Finland

Sweden
9–1
Norway
6
XXII 2001
Details
 Finland
 Sweden
Raksila Ice Rink (Oulu)
Russia
6–1
Sweden

Finland
3–2
Kazakhstan
7
XXIII 2003
Details
 Russia Trud Stadium (Arkhangelsk)
Sweden
5–4
Russia

Kazakhstan
4–1
Finland
9
XXIV 2004
Details
 Sweden
 Hungary
Rocklunda IP (Västerås)
Finland
5–4
(a.e.t.)

Sweden

Russia
5–2
Kazakhstan
11
XXV 2005
Details
 Russia Trudovye Rezervy Stadium (Kazan)
Sweden
5–2
Russia

Kazakhstan
5–3
Finland
11
XXVI 2006
Details
 Sweden Zinkensdamms IP (Stockholm)
Russia
3–2
Sweden

Finland
7–4
Kazakhstan
12
XXVII 2007
Details
 Russia Khimik Stadium (Kemerovo)
Russia
3–1
Sweden

Finland
5–4
(a.e.t.)

Kazakhstan
12
XXVIII 2008
Details
 Russia Olympic Stadium (Moscow)
Russia
6–1
Sweden

Finland
8–3
Kazakhstan
13
XXIX 2009
Details
 Sweden ABB Arena South (Västerås)
Sweden
6–1
Russia

Finland
7–3
Kazakhstan
13
XXX 2010
Details
 Russia Ice Palace Krylatskoye (Moscow)
Sweden
6–5
(a.e.t.)

Russia

Finland
4–3
(a.e.t.)

Kazakhstan
11
XXXI 2011
Details
 Russia Trudovye Rezervy Stadium (Kazan)
Russia
6–1
Finland

Sweden
14–3
Kazakhstan
11
XXXII 2012
Details
 Kazakhstan Medeu (Almaty)
Sweden
5–4
Russia

Kazakhstan
10–5
Finland
14
XXXIII 2013
Details
 Sweden
 Norway
Arena Vänersborg (Vänersborg)
Russia
4–3
Sweden

Kazakhstan
6–3
Finland
14
XXXIV 2014
Details
 Russia Trud Stadium (Irkutsk)
Russia
3–2
Sweden

Kazakhstan
5–3
Finland
17
XXXV 2015
Details
 Russia Arena Yerofey (Khabarovsk)
Russia
5–3
Sweden

Kazakhstan
8–6
Finland
16
XXXVI 2016
Details
 Russia Trud Stadium (Ulyanovsk) Russia
Russia
6–1
Finland

Sweden
4–0
Kazakhstan
18
XXXVII 2017
Details
 Sweden Göransson Arena (Sandviken)
Sweden
4–3
Russia

Finland
11–1 Norway
Norway
18
XXXVIII 2018
Details
 Russia
 China
Arena Yerofey (Khabarovsk)
Russia
5–4
Sweden

Finland
8–4
Kazakhstan
16
XXXIX 2019
Details
 Sweden Arena Vänersborg (Vänersborg)
Russia
6–5
(a.e.t.)

Sweden

Finland
8–2
Kazakhstan
20
XL 2020
Details
 Russia A Division cancelled 10 (18**)
XLI 2022
Details
 Russia Cancelled
XLII 2023
Details
 Sweden Eriksson Arena (Växjö)
Sweden
3–1
Finland

Norway
5–1
Kazakhstan
11
XLIII 2024 N/A Cancelled

* For 1959–1981 championships, there are listed venues (host cities) of the decisive matches of round-robin tournaments (i.e. matches between champions and runners-up for each tournament), not final matches.
** 18 teams were enrolled in 2020, but only 10 (the B division) could participate.

Kyrgyzstan and Japan were the newcomers in 2012. Here, the Kyrgyzstan team defend their goal when Japan is about to make a corner stroke. Kyrgyzstan has yet to make another world championship appearance.

Medal table[edit]

Countries in italics no longer compete at the World Championships.

RankNationGoldSilverBronzeTotal
1 Soviet Union142117
2 Sweden1319840
3 Russia129122
4 Finland192232
5 Norway0123
6 Kazakhstan0066
Totals (6 entries)404040120

Consecutive wins[edit]

The most consecutive gold medals were won by the Soviet Union with 11. Russia has won four consecutive gold medals and Sweden has won three consecutive gold medals.

Final arenas (since 1983)[edit]

Until 1981, the championship was always decided by round-robin games, so only since 1983 there have been designated venues for the championship final game.

No. Times Country Arena City Years Note
1 2  Finland Oulunkylä Ice Rink Helsinki 1983, 1991
1 2  Russia Trud Stadium Arkhangelsk 1999, 2003
1 2  Sweden Rocklunda IP Västerås 1997, 2004
1 2  Russia Olympic Stadium Moscow 1989, 2008 Indoor arena
1 2  Russia Trudovye Rezervy Stadium Kazan 2005, 2011
1 2  Russia Arena Yerofey Khabarovsk 2015, 2018 Indoor arena
1 2  Sweden Arena Vänersborg Vänersborg 2013, 2019 Indoor arena
8 1  Norway Valle Hovin Oslo 1985
8 1  Sweden Söderstadion Stockholm 1987
8 1  Norway Hamar Olympic Hall Hamar 1993 Indoor arena
8 1  United States John Rose Minnesota Oval Roseville 1995
8 1  Finland Raksila Ice Rink Oulu 2001
8 1  Sweden Zinkensdamms IP Stockholm 2006
8 1  Russia Khimik Stadium Kemerovo 2007
8 1  Sweden ABB Arena South Västerås 2009 Indoor arena
8 1  Russia Ice Palace Krylatskoye Moscow 2010 Indoor arena
8 1  Kazakhstan Medeu Almaty 2012
8 1  Russia Trud Stadium Irkutsk 2014
8 1  Russia Trud Stadium Ulyanovsk 2016
8 1  Sweden Göransson Arena Sandviken 2017 Indoor arena
8 1  Sweden Eriksson Arena Växjö 2023 Indoor arena

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Sweden and Finland boycott World Bandy Championships in Russia".
  2. ^ "FIB - World Championships in Russia postponed!".
  3. ^ "The Finnish Bandy Federation, in English". Finnish Bandy Federation. Retrieved February 12, 2014.
  4. ^ "Somali team seeking to be masters of ice sport bandy", BBC-online, 3 January 2014.
  5. ^ 35-й чемпионат мира по хоккею с мячом стартовал в Хабаровске Archived 2020-12-01 at the Wayback Machine,(in Russian), Retrieved 5 February 2016
  6. ^ "Венерсборг идёт на рекорд! - Архив новостей - Федерация хоккея с мячом России".
  7. ^ "Армения готова участвовать в чемпионате мира - Архив новостей - Федерация хоккея с мячом России".
  8. ^ "Борис Скрынник: Хоккей с мячом – третий по посещаемости игровой вид спорта в России | BANDYNET.RU".
  9. ^ "Армения готова участвовать в чемпионате мира - Архив новостей - Федерация хоккея с мячом России".
  10. ^ "Литва и Беларусь могут принять участие в чемпионате мира | BANDYNET.RU".
  11. ^ "A poster showing the flags of the registered teams for the 2011 tournament, including that of Australia, which in the end did not show up". Archived from the original on 2013-12-03. Retrieved 2017-02-19.
  12. ^ "ТАСС".
  13. ^ "World Championship will be broadcast on main TV channels". Archived from the original on 2015-07-09. Retrieved 2012-01-19.

External links[edit]