Ice hockey at the 2026 Winter Olympics – Women's qualification

Qualification for the women's ice hockey tournament at the 2026 Winter Olympics will be determined by the IIHF World Ranking following the 2024 Women's Ice Hockey World Championships. The host along with the top six teams in the world ranking receive automatic berths into the Olympics, while all other teams have an opportunity to qualify for the remaining three spots. ^[1] The participation of Russia is not yet confirmed and depends on if the team is allowed to return to the IIHF Championship program. ^[2]

Qualified teams

Event	Date	Location	Vacancies	Qualified
Hosts	23 May 2023 [3]	Tampere	1	Italy
2024 IIHF World Ranking [a]	20 August 2021 – 14 April 2024	Utica [b]	6	Canada   United States   Finland   Czech Republic   Switzerland   Russia [c]
Final qualification tournaments	6 – 9 February 2025	TBD	1
		TBD	1
		TBD	1
Total			10

Notes

1. ^a The 2024 IIHF World Ranking comprised the following events: 2021 World Championship, 2022 World Championship, 2022 Winter Olympic Games, 2023 World Championship and 2024 World Championship.
2. ^b Utica will be the site of the 2024 IIHF Women's World Championship; at the conclusion of the tournament the direct qualification slots will be finalized, however final qualification ranking will not be determined until the completion of the Division IA tournament in Klagenfurt on April 27.
3. ^c The participation of Russia is not yet confirmed and depends on if the team is allowed to return to the IIHF World Championship program.

Qualification seeding

To qualify directly, a nation has to be ranked in the top six following the 2024 Women's Ice Hockey World Championships. In the IIHF World Ranking system, ranking points from the most recent year are weighted at full value, and points from each preceding year are worth 25% less. The table below represents the standings of the 45 current participants, and Russia (whose status is yet to be determined).

	Qualified directly to Olympic tournament
	Entered in Final Olympic qualification
	Entered in Round 2
	Entered in Round 1 (cancelled)
	Did not enter Olympic qualification

Qualifying seed	Team	WC2024 (100%)	WC2023 (75%)	WC2022 (50%)	OLY2022 (50%)	WC2021 (25%)	Total
1	Canada	1600	1560	1200	1200	1200	4270
2	United States	1560	1600	1160	1160	1160	4210
3	Finland	1520	1460	1040	1120	1120	3975
4	Czechia	1500	1520	1120	1020	1020	3965
5	Switzerland	1460	1500	1100	1100	1100	3960
6	Russia	1440	1460	1100	1060	1060	3880
7	Japan	1400	1420	1060	1040	1040	3775
8	Sweden	1420	1440	1020	1000	960	3750
9	Germany	1440	1400	960	860	1000	3650
10	Hungary	1300	1360	1000	920	960	3520
11	Denmark	1340	1300	940	940	940	3490
12	China	1360	1320	820	960	740	3425
13	France	1280	1340	920	880	920	3415
14	Norway	1320	1240	900	840	880	3340
15	Austria	1260	1280	860	900	860	3315
16	Slovakia	1200	1220	880	820	840	3175
17	Netherlands	1240	1260	840	740	780	3170
18	South Korea	1220	1200	740	780	800	3080
Host	Italy	1160	1160	780	800	820	3025
19	Poland	1100	1180	800	760	760	2955
20	Great Britain	1140	1120	700	720	660	2855
21	Slovenia	1120	1140	720	680	680	2845
22	Kazakhstan	1080	1100	760	660	720	2795
23	Spain	1060	1060	660	700	640	2695
24	Mexico	1040	1040	620	640	620	2605
25	Chinese Taipei	1020	1020	640	620	540	2550
26	Latvia	1180	1080	680	0	700	2505
27	Iceland	1000	1000	580	600	520	2470
28	Turkey	880	860	540	580	580	2230
	Hong Kong	920	840	360	560	460	2125
	Australia	940	940	560	0	560	2065
	Belgium	980	960	460	0	400	2030
	New Zealand	900	920	540	0	500	1985
29	Lithuania	800	800	440	520	340	1965
	South Africa	860	900	520	0	420	1900
30	Bulgaria	740	760	420	540	360	1880
31	Croatia	760	880	500	0	480	1790
	Ukraine	840	820	460	0	380	1780
32	Romania	820	780	420	0	440	1725
33	Estonia	700	740	340	0	320	1505
34	Serbia	780	720	320	0	0	1480
	North Korea	960	0	620	0	600	1420
	Bosnia and Herzegovina	640	680	300	0	300	1375
	Israel	680	700	280	0	0	1345
35	Thailand	720	0	0	0	0	720
	Singapore	660	0	0	0	0	660

Olympic qualification Round 1

This round was canceled. ^[4] It was meant to take place between 7–10 November, 2024, and consist of three groups of teams ranked 25th or lower. ^{[1] [5]} Teams entered in Group A were Chinese Taipei, Bulgaria and Croatia; teams in Group B were Latvia, Lithuania, Romania and Thailand; and teams in Group C were Iceland, Turkey, Estonia and Serbia. ^[5]

The three highest ranked teams, Chinese Taipei, Latvia and Iceland, advanced to Round 2. ^[6]

Olympic qualification Round 2

Twelve countries will play in three tournaments 12–15 December, 2024, involving nations ranked 16th to 24th and those who advanced from Round 1 (named Qualifier 4, 5, and 6). If nations decline to participate then those ranked lower will move up to fill their place. ^[1]

Group D

The tournament will be held in Piešťany, Slovakia. ^[4]

Pos	Team	Pld	W	OTW	OTL	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Slovakia	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	Final qualification
2	Slovenia	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
3	Kazakhstan	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
4	Iceland	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

First match(es) will be played: 12 December 2024. 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.

Group E

The tournament will be held in Sheffield, Great Britain. ^[4]

Pos	Team	Pld	W	OTW	OTL	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Netherlands	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	Final qualification
2	Great Britain	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
3	Spain	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
4	Latvia	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

First match(es) will be played: 12 December 2024. 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.

Group F

The tournament will be held in Bytom, Poland. ^[4]

Pos	Team	Pld	W	OTW	OTL	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	South Korea	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	Final qualification
2	Poland	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
3	Mexico	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
4	Chinese Taipei	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

First match(es) will be played: 12 December 2024. 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.

Final Olympic qualification

Twelve countries will play in three tournaments 6–9 February, 2025 involving nations ranked 7th to 15th, and the three winners of the Round 2 tournaments. The winners advance to the Olympic tournament and play in group B. ^[1]

Group G

Pos	Team	Pld	W	OTW	OTL	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Japan	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2026 Winter Olympics
2	China	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
3	France	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
4	Qualifier 3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

First match(es) will be played: 6 February 2025. 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.

Group H

Pos	Team	Pld	W	OTW	OTL	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Sweden	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2026 Winter Olympics
2	Denmark	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
3	Norway	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
4	Qualifier 2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

First match(es) will be played: 6 February 2025. 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.

Group I

The tournament will be held in Bremerhaven, Germany. ^[4]

Pos	Team	Pld	W	OTW	OTL	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Germany	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2026 Winter Olympics
2	Hungary	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
3	Austria	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
4	Qualifier 1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

First match(es) will be played: 6 February 2025. 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.

References

1. "Qualification System – XXV Olympic Winter Games" (PDF). Olympics.com. Retrieved 3 December 2023.
2. "Russia, Belarus banned from international hockey world championships next season". CBC.ca. 22 March 2023. Retrieved 2 December 2023.
3. "And 2027 goes to …". IIHF. 26 May 2023. Retrieved 2 January 2024.
4. "CALENDAR OF EVENTS As of FRI 21 JUN 2024" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2024-06-25. Retrieved 2024-06-25.
5. "Women's National Team Qualification Groups for the 2026 Olympic Games". National Teams of Ice Hockey - Information about hockey around the world. 2024-05-20. Retrieved 2024-05-21.
6. "Tournaments (Olympic Qualifications 2025)". IIHF International Ice Hockey Federation. Retrieved 2024-06-25.