This year, the UEFA (Union of European Football Associations) Euro 2024 tournament will be held in the world of soccer, and it will be a very tense and passionate tournament with the aim of winning the Euro Cup and being recognized as the strongest country in Europe. The IIHF (International Ice Hockey Federation) Such tournaments It ran from 1910 to 1932. Unlike football's UEFA EuroCup, which has been held every four years since 1960, the IIHF's version was an annual tournament, suspended several times between World War I and World War II.
Since 1932, the European Championship has been awarded to the European team that wins the World Championship. Some of the best European hockey players can only show the strongest European teams at the World Championship, World Junior Championship, World Cup of Hockey and the Olympic Games. Of these tournaments, the World Championship is the closest to “Europe” since it is mainly held in Europe, but it is mainly considered a “world” tournament, with Canada and the United States participating several times, as well as non-European countries such as Australia, Japan and South Korea.
It would be great to have a European tournament for both IIHF men and women. It would be more refined to only include European teams in the group stage. If the IIHF were to bring back the European tournament, here is what would be planned:
Group Structure
The group divisions will be the same as for the World Championships, with two eight-team groups, A and B. Canada and the United States will not participate in the tournament, while Russia and Belarus are banned. Participate in the IIHF Tournament There are three vacant spots in the European competition until 2025. The host team is selected by a vote among IIHF member countries, and the top-ranked country in that vote will decide which European country will host the competition.
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For competitive reasons, and theoretically to make it more interesting, the groups will be balanced based on standings. The points system for the groups will work the same as the World Championship, with 3 points for the team that wins after regulation time, 1 point for both teams if the score is tied after regulation time, an extra point for the team that wins in overtime or a penalty shot shootout, and 0 points for the team that loses after regulation time.
If the tournament started today, the groups would look like this:
Group A
- Czech Republic
- Switzerland
- Slovakia
- Latvia
- Norway
- France
- England
- Italy
Group B
- Sweden
- Germany
- Finland
- Austria
- Denmark
- Slovenia
- Hungary
- Poland
Tournament Eligibility
The qualification concept is fairly simple under the current IIHF structure. This European tournament will feature the best professional players in the world, so it will use the qualification process used in the World Championship. Like the World Championship, the European tournament will have divisions numbered 1 through 4, with two groups named A and B. The top division is the highest division, similar to the World Championship format. A relegation tournament will also be held to determine which players will advance, be promoted, and be relegated.
Promotion and relegation will work as follows: the eighth-placed team, between Group A and Group B, will be relegated to Division I Group A, while the winner of Division I Group A will be promoted to the top division to compete in the European tournament. This is very different to UEFA's football structure, where countries enter the tournament via a group points system, with tiebreakers decided by a play-off knockout format during the qualification period.
The IIHF system would allow other European nations, who often get overshadowed by powerhouses like Canada and the U.S. in world competitions, a chance to gain experience playing against Europe's top teams and prepare for the world championships. The European tournament could also serve as a blueprint for the world junior level, much like UEFA does something similar for amateur-level soccer.
It seems like a hockey tournament wouldn't be competitive unless Canada and the United States were in it, but that would be a big draw. European matchesit has grown a lot over the years. This will make it even more interesting for new fans who want to know about European hockey. For example, in 2024, Poland Return to the top division After 22 years without an opportunity to participate, Japan will be participating in the IIHF World Championships. Such an achievement could make the country a hockey nation that grows year by year.
Knockout Round
The format of the knockout rounds is simple: the top four teams at the end of the group stage must advance. The rounds will be broken down according to each team's placement in their group – for example, 1A (top team from Group A) will play 4B (fourth-placed team from Group B). Given the number of teams that advance to each group, this is the same as the knockout format at the World Championships.
Rules-wise, everything will be the same as the group matches, except for tiebreaking situations. Relegation playoffs, quarterfinals, placement playoffs, quarterfinals, semifinals and the bronze medal game will have 10 minutes of 3v3 sudden death overtime until someone scores a winning goal. If no one scores, the game will go to a penalty shootout to determine the winner.
The gold medal game will be slightly different: Instead of a deciding 10-minute game, there will be a 20-minute 3-on-3 sudden-death overtime period.
If it were just European teams, this would be great and give the European World Champions a chance to show their skills across Europe. Czech Republic Current Champion A European Championship win after the World Championship would create a dynasty in international hockey similar to how Spain won two Euro Cups (2008, 2012) and the World Cup (2010) in soccer.
Final thoughts
This may seem like a slight change from the World Championships, but it's nice considering it takes place every four years. Hockey has many tournaments, from the Olympics to the World Cup of Hockey to the Four Nations Face-Off. From 2025This would have to be sneaked into months when players can afford to play, such as August or July, when players are completely removed from NHL duties until next season.
This will keep hockey viewership among fans, mainly in Europe and around the world. Again, the tournament will be held every four years, so there will be no need to worry about fatigue after the games and players will be able to get plenty of rest before returning to their respective teams for the regular season.
