2023 Bandy World Championship

The 2023 Bandy World Championship was an international bandy tournament between bandy playing nations. The tournament was played in Åby, a subdivision of Växjö City in Sweden. Two separate tournaments for men's national teams and women's national teams took place.[1] This Bandy World Championship marked an important development for the sport at the international level. For the first time the men's world championships took place at the same time and in the same arena as the Women's Bandy World Championship which served as the international female equivalent for the sport known as the 2023 Women's Bandy World Championship. This article deals chiefly with the men's world competition.

2023 Bandy World Championship
XLII Bandy World Championship
Tournament details
Host country Sweden
CityVäxjö (Åby)
Venue(s)Eriksson Arena (in 1 host city)
Dates28 March – 2 April (Division A)
24–27 March (Division B)
Teams5 (Division A) and 6 (Division B)
Final positions
Champions  Sweden (13th title)
Runner-up  Finland
Third place  Norway
Fourth place Kazakhstan
Tournament statistics
Games played33
Goals scored274 (8.3 per game)
Attendance5,542 (168 per game)
Scoring leader(s)Division A
Sweden Christoffer Edlund
(12 goals)
MVPSweden Martin Landström
Official website
2023 Men's and Women's Bandy World Championship 2023

According to original plans, the 2023 championship tournament would have been hosted by Russia, but since Russia is excluded from international play due to the Russo-Ukrainian War, the idea was brought forward during autumn of 2022 that a world championship should be arranged in Sweden instead. With the permission of the Federation of International Bandy, the Swedish Bandy Association therefore sent an invitation, in the form of an inquiry of interest, to all countries which at the 2019 Bandy World Championship qualified to compete in the A Division of the next world championship, except Russia. Countries invited are thus Finland, Norway, Kazakhstan, United States, Germany, Estonia, and Hungary.[2][3]

The national men's bandy teams from Latvia and Estonia decided not to participate in the 2023 tournament. Other member national bandy federations which had previously competed but would not compete in 2023 stated costs as the main factor preventing them from participating in the event.[citation needed]

No A Division of a world championship has been played since 2019, which is why the qualification at that year's championship has been the basis for the invitations. In 2020 the A Division was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic and in 2021 there was no world championship at all for the same reason. The 2022 Bandy World Championship was to be played in Russia, but it was cancelled since most countries did not want to play in or against Russia following the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. Four national teams decided to withdraw after the invasion began.[4]

Venues

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All matches were played in Eriksson Arena, Åby.

Both men's and women's games take place in Åby, a subdivision of Växjö City in Sweden
Sweden
Åby
Venue
Eriksson Arena
Capacity: 2,000
 
Founded 13 November 2019

Doping detection dog

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The world's first doping detection dog will be present for the tournament, an 8-year-old Springer Spaniel named Molly. Molly will be used to detect certain banned substances that are not allowed as per the World Anti-Doping Agency's (WADA) prohibited list.[5]

Squads

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Qualified nations

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Division A

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Preliminary round

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1   Sweden (H) 4 3 1 0 43 5 +38 7 Final
2   Finland 4 3 1 0 31 6 +25 7
3   Norway 4 2 0 2 23 26 −3 4 Third place game
4   Kazakhstan 4 1 0 3 9 28 −19 2
5   United States 4 0 0 4 5 46 −41 0
Source: FIB
(H) Hosts
United States  0–14  Finland
Report
Attendance: 160
Referee: Mats Eriksson
Norway  2–16  Sweden
Report
Attendance: 163
Referee: Mats-Olof Gustafsson

Finland  8–1  Kazakhstan
Report
Attendance: 25
Referee: Jonas Kandell
Sweden  13–1  United States
Report
Attendance: 163
Referee: Mats-Olof Gustafsson

Finland  7–3  Norway
Report
Attendance: 94
Referee: Jonas Kandell
Kazakhstan  7–2  United States
Report
Attendance: 82
Referee: Mats Eriksson

Kazakhstan  1–6  Norway
Report
Attendance: 103
Referee: Mats-Olof Gustaffson
Sweden  2–2  Finland
Report
Attendance: 1,009
Referee: Mats Eriksson

United States  2–12  Norway
Report
Attendance: 192
Referee: Jonas Kandell
Kazakhstan  0–12  Sweden
Report
Attendance: 478
Referee: Mats-Olof Gustafsson

Final Round

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Third place game

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Norway  5–1  Kazakhstan
Report
Attendance: 223
Referee: Jonas Kandell

Final

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Sweden  3–1  Finland
Report
Attendance: 1,946
Referee: Mats-Olof Gustafsson

Final ranking

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Rank Team
    Sweden
    Finland
    Norway
4   Kazakhstan
5   United States

Awards

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Best players selected by the directorate:[6]

Division B

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Preliminary round

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1   Germany 5 4 0 1 32 16 +16 8 Semi-finals
2   Netherlands 5 4 0 1 31 10 +21 8
3   Hungary 5 3 0 2 24 12 +12 6
4   Slovakia 5 2 1 2 17 18 −1 5
5   Czech Republic 5 1 1 3 13 21 −8 3 5th–6th place game
6    Switzerland 5 0 0 5 2 42 −40 0
Source: FIB
Netherlands  11–0   Switzerland
Report
Attendance: 25
Referee: Jacob Liljegren
Germany  4–6  Slovakia
Report
Attendance: 23
Referee: Anti Malaska
Hungary  7–0  Czech Republic
Report
Attendance: 21
Referee: Niclas Schultz
Slovakia  1–6  Netherlands
Report
Attendance: 32
Referee: Jacob Liljegren
Czech Republic  3–6  Germany
Report
Attendance: 31
Referee: Anti Malaska
Switzerland  1–7  Hungary
Report
Attendance: 43
Referee: Niklas Schultz

Germany  6–3  Hungary
Report
Attendance: 28
Referee: Anti Malaska
Slovakia  7–1   Switzerland
Report
Attendance: 19
Referee: Niclas Schultz
Czech Republic  1–6  Netherlands
Report
Attendance: 53
Referee: Jacob Liljegren
Slovakia  1–5  Hungary
Report
Attendance: 42
Referee: Anti Malaska
Switzerland  0–7  Czech Republic
Report
Attendance: 86
Referee: Niklas Schultz
Netherlands  4–6  Germany
Report
Attendance: 83
Referee: Jacob Liljegren

Czech Republic  2–2  Slovakia
Report
Attendance: 18
Referee: Niklas Schultz
Germany  10–0   Switzerland
Report
Attendance: 62
Referee: Jakob Liljegren
Netherlands  4–2  Hungary
Report
Attendance: 80
Referee: Anti Malaska

Final Round

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Semi-finals

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Germany  8–5  Slovakia
Report
Attendance: 40
Referee: Jacob Liljegren
Netherlands  0–2  Hungary
Report
Attendance: 55
Referee: Anti Malaska

5th–6th place game

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Czech Republic  4–2   Switzerland
Report
Attendance: 23
Referee: Niclas Schultz

Switzerland  2–4  Czech Republic
Report
Attendance: 7
Referee: Niclas Schultz

Third place game

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Slovakia  0–4  Netherlands
Report
Attendance: 51
Referee: Anti Malaska

Final

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Germany  1–2  Hungary
Report
Attendance: 82
Referee: Jacob Liljegren

Final ranking

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Rank Team
    Hungary
    Germany
    Netherlands
4   Slovakia
5   Czech Republic
6    Switzerland

Sources

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  1. ^ WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP BACK IN 2023 – FOR BOTH MEN AND WOMEN!
  2. ^ "Förbundet: Herr-VM kan spelas i Sverige" (in Swedish). Bandypuls. 2022-09-23. Retrieved 2022-10-23.
  3. ^ "Herr-VM i bandy kan spelas i Sverige 2023" (in Swedish). Swedish Bandy Association. 2002-09-23. Retrieved 2022-10-23.
  4. ^ Michael Houston (5 February 2023). "Men's and women's teams confirmed for 2023 Bandy World Championships". insidethegames.biz. Inside the Games. Retrieved 7 March 2023.
  5. ^ "Molly the world's first doping dog is coming to the World Championship!". worldbandy.com. Federation of International Bandy. 2023. Retrieved 18 March 2023.
  6. ^ "2023 FIB World Championship Men Group A". FIB. Retrieved 7 April 2023.