This is a list of men's national ice hockey teams in the world. There are fewer than 100 national ice hockey teams in total, [1] with teams representing UN member states, as well as several dependent territories, sub-national entities and states who are not members of the United Nations. [2]
This section lists the current:
IIHF Full Members are nations that regularly participate in the IIHF-sanctioned World Championships. [4] Teams are ranked in the IIHF World Ranking based on their performance over the past four years.
The current participants in the 2024 IIHF World Championship Top Division are marked by ⮝.
The current holder of the 2024 IIHF World Championship is marked by 🏆.
The current medalists of the 2022 Winter Olympics are marked by 🥇🥈🥉.
1. Russia and Belarus were suspended by the IIHF on 28 February 2022 due to their invasion of Ukraine.
2. India has only participated in the IIHF Asia and Oceania Championship, but has not yet entered the World Championships.
3. Ireland has participated in the World Championships in the past, but is currently not active.
* Nation is still a member of the IIHF, but does not have a national team.
IIHF Associate Members either do not have their own independent ice hockey association or have one, but do not meet the minimum participation standards for the IIHF World Championships. [4] Teams in this category generally compete in events outside the IIHF World Championship structure; such as the Development Cup, the Asia and Oceania Championship (formerly the Challenge Cup of Asia), the Asian Winter Games, or the Amerigol LATAM Cup. Chile is an IIHF Affiliate Member, a unique category for nations that only participated in the now-defunct IIHF Inline Hockey World Championship. [5]
Moldova and Namibia used to be members of the IIHF, but left the organization without ever having formed a national ice hockey team. [6] [7]
1. Uzbekistan will make its World Championships debut in 2025.
2. Armenia has participated in the World Championships in the past, but was not active until 2025.
3. Greece has participated in the World Championships in the past, but is currently not active.
* Nation is still a member of the IIHF, but does not have a national team.
The following countries are not members of the IIHF, but do have national ice hockey teams that have played at least one official international game.
The following national ice hockey teams have ceased to exist.
Exhibition teams representing multiple countries in Europe and North America have participated in the 2016 World Cup of Hockey. [9]
The Triple Gold Club is the group of ice hockey players and coaches who have won an Olympic Games gold medal, a World Championship gold medal, and the Stanley Cup, the championship trophy of the National Hockey League (NHL). The International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) considers them to be "the three most important championships available to the sport".
Association football is the most popular sport in Kuwait, followed by basketball and cricket. Additional sports on the rise in Kuwait include powerboating, handball, field hockey, rugby union, and shooting.
The Mongolia national ice hockey team is the national ice hockey team of Mongolia. They are controlled by the Mongolian Hockey Federation and a member of the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) since 15 May 1999. Mongolia participated in several World Championship tournaments from late 2000s to early 2010s, but since 2013, have only played in the Challenge Cup of Asia, a regional tournament for lower-tier hockey nations in Asia.
The UAE national ice hockey team is the national men's ice hockey team of the United Arab Emirates. It is operated under the UAE Ice Sports Federation and a member of the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF). As of 26 May 2019, the UAE is currently ranked 48th in the IIHF World Ranking and competes in Division III Group A tournament of the World Championships.
The Liechtenstein national ice hockey team is the national men's ice hockey team of Liechtenstein. The team is controlled by the Liechtenstein Ice Hockey Federation and has been an associate member of the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) since 4 October 2001. Liechtenstein is currently not ranked in the IIHF World Ranking and has not entered in any IIHF World Championship events.
The Thailand national ice hockey team is the national men's ice hockey team of Thailand. The team is controlled by the Ice Hockey Association of Thailand and a member of the International Ice Hockey Federation. Thailand is currently ranked at fifty-first in the IIHF World Rankings and have been entered in the World Championship tournaments since 2019 but have not yet participated at any Olympic Games. They have played in the Challenge Cup of Asia, a regional tournament for lower-tier hockey nations in Asia.
The Namibia national inline hockey team is the national men's inline hockey team of Namibia.
The Kuwait national ice hockey team is the national men's ice hockey team of Kuwait. The team is controlled by the Kuwait Ice Hockey Association and a member of the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) since 8 May 2009. As of 28 May 2023, Kuwait is currently ranked 50th in the IIHF World Ranking. Kuwait participated in the IIHF Challenge Cup of Asia, a regional tournament for lower-tier hockey nations in Asia, from 2010 to 2018. Kuwait made its World Championship debut at the 2018 Division III Qualification tournament.
The International Ice Hockey Federation is a worldwide governing body for ice hockey. It is based in Zurich, Switzerland, and has 84 member countries.
The IIHF Inline Hockey World Championships were an annual international men's inline hockey tournament organized by the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF). The first World Championship was held in 1996 in which eleven nations participated. In 2003, sixteen nations took part and were split into two divisions. The top eight teams played for the World Championship and the other eight played for the Division I title. The last format in use featured the World Championship, Division I and three regional qualification tournaments. The World Championship and Division I tournament were played on odd years and the qualification tournaments were played on even years. The United States was the tournament's most dominant team, winning the World Championship seven times. After 20 editions, the IIHF cancelled the tournament in June 2019.
There are a number of indoor ice rinks in African countries that are used for ice hockey. Enthusiasts have formed national teams in several countries and an inaugural African Nations Cup of Ice Hockey was planned for 2009. The first African Nations Cup of Ice Hockey was planned for South Africa between 19–26 September 2009. The matches of the championship were to be played at the ice rink of "Festival Shopping Centre" in Kempton Park. The competing countries were to be South Africa, Morocco and Algeria. However, the tournament was postponed due to lack of response from the invited countries and never played.
Kerry Pauline Weiland Sorbara is an American retired ice hockey and inline hockey player, a defenseman. As a member of the United States women's national ice hockey team, she won four IIHF Women's World Championship medals and a silver medal in the 2010 Olympic women's ice hockey tournament.
The Qatari national ice hockey team is the national men's ice hockey team of Qatar. They are controlled by the Qatar Winter Sports Committee and has been a member of the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) since 18 May 2012. Qatar is currently not ranked in the IIHF World Ranking and have not entered in any World Championship tournaments or at any Olympic Games, but have only played once in the Challenge Cup of Asia Division I tournament in 2016, a regional tournament for lower-tier hockey nations in Asia.
The Brazilian national ice hockey team is the national men's ice hockey team of Brazil. The team is controlled by the Brazilian Ice Sports Federation and as an associate member of the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF). Brazil is currently not ranked in the IIHF World Ranking and has still not actively competing in any World Championship, but have played in the Pan American Tournament, a regional tournament for lower-tier hockey nations in the Americas.
The Chile national ice hockey team is the national men's ice hockey team of Chile and is controlled by the Chilean Ice and Inline Hockey Federation. Chile is currently not ranked in the IIHF World Ranking and has not entered in any IIHF World Championship events.
The Philippines national ice hockey team is the national men's ice hockey team of the Philippines. They are controlled by the Federation of Ice Hockey League (FIHL) and a member of the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) since May 20, 2016. Prior to that period, a national team has played in regional tournaments in Hong Kong since the 2000s.
The Indonesia Ice Hockey Federation is the governing body of ice hockey in Indonesia. The federation joined the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) as an associate member on May 20, 2016.
This article lists the performances of each of the 62 national teams which have made at least one appearance in the Ice Hockey World Championships, an annual international men's ice hockey tournament organized by the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF), including the Olympic ice hockey tournament was also considered the World Championship for that year, and was held before the first Ice Hockey World Championship as an individual event in 1930. With the exception between 1940 and 1946, when no championships were held during World War II, nor were held during the Olympic years 1980, 1984, and 1988. In 2020, the IIHF announced that all World Championship tournaments have been cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic and travel restrictions-related issues.
Ali Fadakar, is an Iranian karateka. He began karate training at age 10, and after several champions of national karate championships, became a member of Iran's karate national team in 2008. He has won 3 gold medals of 2009, 2012 and 2016 Junior and Senior World karate championships.