Slovakia will split the matches between the Orange Arena in the capital Bratislava, and the Steel Aréna in the country’s second largest city Košice, just as they did when they last hosted the Championship in 2011.

The competition is scheduled to take place from May 3 to 19, while the dates for the 2020 edition in Switzerland, which will see games staged in Zurich and Lausanne, have yet to be announced.

Switzerland, which last held the event six years ago in Berne and Zurich-Kloten, plan to host the Championship under the slogan “Love Ice Hockey”.

The two venues proposed are Zurich's Hallenstadion, which has a capacity of 11,200 for hockey, as well as a brand-new 10,000-seat arena in Lausanne, which forms part of the city’s bid to host the 2020 Winter Youth Olympic Games.

If the proposed venue in the Olympic capital is not built, the 7,000-seat arena in Zug that hosted the majority of the matches at last month’s Under-18 World Championship will be used as a backup.  

The two host countries were named during an IIHF meeting in Prague, where this year’s World Championship is due to conclude at the weekend.

Canada play Czech Republic in tomorrow’s first semi-final, before the United States face Russia.

The winners will compete in the gold medal game on Sunday (May 17), after the losers have contested the bronze medal game.

The World Championship moves to Moscow and St Petersburg in Russia next year, before heading to Paris and German city Cologne in 2017, and the Danish cities of Copenhagen and Herning in 2018.


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