International Ice Hockey Federation

The Ligue International de Hockey sur Glace (LIHG) was founded on 15 May 1908 in Paris, France, with representatives from Belgium, France, Great Britain, and Switzerland. Men’s ice hockey first appeared at the Olympic Games during its Summer edition at Antwerp 1920, and it would be a part of the Winter Olympics programme since its inception at Chamonix 1924. The tournament at Antwerp 1920 would later also be recognized as the first IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship.

The federation adopted its current English name, International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF), in 1954. Women ice hockey players would have to wait until 1990 for their first IIHF Women’s World Championship, held in Ottawa, Canada. Their Olympic début would come close to a decade later, at Nagano 1998.

Ice hockey has also been a part of the Youth Winter Olympics, with events for boys and girls, since the competition’s début, at Innsbruck 2012.

As of January 2026, the IIHF has 84 member national associations (61 Full Members and 23 Associate Members). The federation’s office is located in the center of Zürich, Switzerland, and its current president is France’s Luc Tardif.

Besides Ice Hockey, the IIHF also governs the discipline of 3-on-3 Ice Hockey. This newer, faster discipline débuted at the Youth Winter Olympics at Lausanne 2020, with tournaments for boys and girls, separate from the “regular” ice hockey youth competitions. An Ultimate Hockey League for professional 3x3 players is expected to be held internationally in 2028.

The IIHF also organized Inline Hockey World Championships from 1996 until 2017, featuring national teams competing in inline hockey, a variation of hockey played on inline skates. The IIHF’s involvement in this discipline concluded in 2019 when the federation announced it would no longer govern the sport or organize its world championships. This decision followed the cancellation of the 2019 tournament due to a lack of interested host nations.