2026 IIHF U18 Women's World Championship

2026 IIHF U18 Women's World Championship

Tournament details
Host country	Canada
Venue	1 (in 1 host city)
Dates	10–18 January 2026
Teams	8
Official website
www.iihf.com
←  2025 2027  →

The 2026 IIHF U18 Women's World Championship will be the 18th U18 Women's World Championship in ice hockey. ^{[1] [2]}

Top Division

The Top Division tournament will be played in Membertou and Sydney, Canada, from 10 to 18 January 2026. ^[3]

Host selection

On 3 January 2025, Canada and the IIHF signed an agreement handing five IIHF women's competitions between 2026 and 2030 to Canada. ^{[4] [5]}

Participants

Eight teams will take part in the competition. Hungary will return for the first time since 2014. They will replace Japan, who were immediately relegated back to the Division I after finishing last in 2025.

Qualification	Host	Dates	Vacancies	Qualified
Top seven in 2025	Vantaa	4–12 January 2025	7	Canada (H)   United States   Czechia   Sweden    Switzerland   Finland   Slovakia
Promoted from Division I	Budapest	5–11 January 2025	1	Hungary

Summary of qualified teams

Team	Qualification method	Appearance(s)				Previous best performance [a]
		Total [b]	First [b]	Last [b]	Streak [b]
Canada	First in 2025	18th	2008	2025	18	Champions (2010, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2019, 2022, 2023, 2025)
United States	Second in 2025				18	Champions (2008, 2009, 2011, 2015 , 2016, 2017, 2018, 2020, 2024)
Czechia	Third in 2025				18	Runners-up (2024)
Sweden	Fourth in 2025				18	Runners-up (2018, 2023 )
Switzerland	Fifth in 2025	15th			11	Fifth place (2025)
Finland	Sixth in 2025	18th			18	Third place (2011, 2019, 2022)
Slovakia	Seventh in 2025	6th	2020		6	Sixth place (2022, 2023, 2024)
Hungary	Champions of Division I	3rd	2013	2014	1	Sixth place (2013)

Groups composition

The serpentine system was used to organise the groups (rankings in brackets).

Group A   Canada (1)   Sweden (4)    Switzerland (5)   Hungary (8)

Group B   United States (2)   Czechia (3)   Finland (6)   Slovakia (7)

Preliminary round

All times are local (UTC−4).

Group A

Pos	Team	Pld	W	OTW	OTL	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Canada (H)	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	Quarterfinals
2	Sweden	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
3	Switzerland	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
4	Hungary	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

First match(es) will be played: 10 January 2026. Source: ^{[ citation needed ]}
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal difference; 4) head-to-head number of goals scored; 5) result against closest best-ranked team outside tied teams; 6) result against second-best-ranked team outside tied teams; 7) seeding before tournament
(H) Host

10 January 2026 17:00

Sweden

v

Hungary

Sport and Wellness Centre, Membertou

10 January 2026 20:30

Switzerland

v

Canada

Sport and Wellness Centre, Membertou

---

12 January 2026 11:00

Sweden

v

Switzerland

Sport and Wellness Centre, Membertou

12 January 2026 18:00

Canada

v

Hungary

Sport and Wellness Centre, Membertou

---

13 January 2026 17:00

Canada

v

Sweden

Sport and Wellness Centre, Membertou

13 January 2026 20:30

Hungary

v

Switzerland

Sport and Wellness Centre, Membertou

Group B

Pos	Team	Pld	W	OTW	OTL	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	United States	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	Quarterfinals
2	Czechia	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
3	Finland	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
4	Slovakia	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

First match(es) will be played: 10 January 2026. Source: ^{[ citation needed ]}
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal difference; 4) head-to-head number of goals scored; 5) result against closest best-ranked team outside tied teams; 6) result against second-best-ranked team outside tied teams; 7) seeding before tournament

10 January 2026 10:00

Slovakia

v

United States

Sport and Wellness Centre, Membertou

10 January 2026 13:30

Czechia

v

Finland

Sport and Wellness Centre, Membertou

---

11 January 2026 13:30

Finland

v

Slovakia

Sport and Wellness Centre, Membertou

11 January 2026 18:00

United States

v

Czechia

Sport and Wellness Centre, Membertou

---

13 January 2026 10:00

Czechia

v

Slovakia

Sport and Wellness Centre, Membertou

13 January 2026 13:30

United States

v

Finland

Sport and Wellness Centre, Membertou

Playoff round

Bracket

	Quarterfinals				Semifinals				Final
	15 January
	1A
					17 January
	4B
	15 January
	1B
									18 January
	4A
	15 January
	2A
					17 January
	3B
	15 January
									Third place
	2B
									18 January
	3A

Quarterfinals

15 January 2026 10:00

v

Centre 200, Sydney

---

15 January 2026 13:30

v

Centre 200, Sydney

---

15 January 2026 17:00

v

Centre 200, Sydney

---

15 January 2026 20:30

v

Centre 200, Sydney

Semifinals

17 January 2026 16:00

v

Centre 200, Sydney

---

17 January 2026 19:30

v

Centre 200, Sydney

Relegation game

17 January 2026 12:00

v

Centre 200, Sydney

Bronze medal game

17 January 2026 15:30

v

Centre 200, Sydney

Gold medal game

17 January 2026 19:30

v

Centre 200, Sydney

Division I

Main article: 2026 IIHF U18 Women's World Championship Division I

Group A

The tournament will be held in Ritten, Italy, from 12 to 18 January 2026. ^[6]

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	OTW	OTL	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Promotion or relegation
1	Japan	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	Promotion to the 2027 Top Division
2	Italy (H)	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
3	Germany	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
4	Norway	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
5	France	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
6	Denmark	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	Relegation to the 2027 Division I B

First match(es) will be played: 12 January 2026. Source: IIHF
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal difference; 4) head-to-head number of goals scored; 5) result against closest best-ranked team outside tied teams; 6) result against second-best ranked team outside tied teams; 7) seeding before tournament.
(H) Host

Group B

The tournament will be held in Katowice, Poland, from 5 to 11 January 2026. ^[6]

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	OTW	OTL	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Promotion or relegation
1	Austria	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	Promotion to the 2027 Division I A
2	Poland (H)	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
3	Spain	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
4	China	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
5	Australia	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
6	Great Britain	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	Relegation to the 2027 Division II A

First match(es) will be played: 5 January 2026. Source: IIHF
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal difference; 4) head-to-head number of goals scored; 5) result against closest best-ranked team outside tied teams; 6) result against second-best ranked team outside tied teams; 7) seeding before tournament.
(H) Host

Division II

Main article: 2026 IIHF U18 Women's World Championship Division II

Group A

The tournament will be held in Istanbul, Turkey, from 19 to 25 January 2026. ^[6]

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	OTW	OTL	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Promotion or relegation
1	South Korea	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	Promotion to the 2027 Division I B
2	Kazakhstan	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
3	Latvia	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
4	Netherlands	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
5	New Zealand	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
6	Turkey (H)	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	Relegation to the 2027 Division II B

First match(es) will be played: 19 January 2025. Source: IIHF
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal difference; 4) head-to-head number of goals scored; 5) result against closest best-ranked team outside tied teams; 6) result against second-best ranked team outside tied teams; 7) seeding before tournament.
(H) Host

Group B

The tournament will be held in Cape Town, South Africa, from 26 January to 1 February 2026. ^[6]

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	OTW	OTL	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Promotion or relegation
1	Chinese Taipei	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	Promotion to the 2027 Division II A
2	Iceland	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
3	Belgium	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
4	Mexico	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
5	South Africa (H)	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
6	Romania	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	Relegation to the 2027 Division III A

First match(es) will be played: 26 January 2026. Source: IIHF
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal difference; 4) head-to-head number of goals scored; 5) result against closest best-ranked team outside tied teams; 6) result against second-best ranked team outside tied teams; 7) seeding before tournament.
(H) Host

Division III

The tournament will be held in Bangkok, Thailand, from 29 January to 4 February 2026. ^[6]

Pos	Team	Pld	W	OTW	OTL	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Promotion
1	Thailand (H)	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	Promotion to the 2027 Division II B
2	Croatia	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
3	Lithuania	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
4	Bulgaria	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
5	Iran	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

First match(es) will be played: 29 January 2026. Source: ^{[ citation needed ]}
(H) Host

Notes

1. Bold text indicates they hosted that edition.
2. In top division. Results in tiers below are excluded.

References

1. "2026 IIHF U18 Women's World Championship (Top Division) official website". www.iihf.com.
2. "2026 IIHF U18 Women's World Championship (Top Division) tournament reports". stats.iihf.com.
3. "2026 IIHF U18 Women's World Championship Schedule Announced". IIHF. 16 September 2025. Retrieved 2 October 2025.
4. https://www.iihf.com/en/events/2025/wm20/news/65170/hockey_canada_to_host_more_iihf_events
5. https://www.hockeycanada.ca/en-ca/news/iihf-womens-hockey-hosting-agreement-2024-25-corp
6. "World Championships – World Women U18". IIHF . Retrieved 7 October 2025.

External links

• Official website of IIHF