2026 IIHF Women's World Championship

The following two countries chose to bid: • • '''''' Due to scheduling issues, the hosts announcement was delayed to October 2025. On 3 October 2025, Denmark was awarded the hosting rights at the Semi Annual Congress in Nice, with Herning and an unknown second city hosting the tournament. This marks Denmark's second time hosting after 2022. ==Participants==

Ten teams will take part in the competition for the seventh time. Hungary and Norway were immediately relegated back to Division I after only appearing in the 2025 edition. They will be replaced by Division I champions Austria, who will make their debut in the top division, and runners-up, Denmark, who secured their immediate promotion back to the top division. Denmark would later be awarded the hosting rights as well. Summary of qualified teams Groups composition The serpentine system was used to organise the groups (rankings in brackets). ;Group A • (1) • (4) • (5) • (8) • (9) ;Group B • (2) • (3) • (6) • (7) • (10) ==Venue==

Two venues will be used for the tournament. When Denmark was awarded the hosting rights, it was announced that Herning and an unknown second city would host the tournament. Herning had previously hosted the 2022 edition while also hosting the men's edition in 2018 and 2025. Overview of venues • The KVIK Hockey Arena in Herning is the main venue for the tournament, similar to 2022. The arena was built in 1987, but was renovated in 2018 as it was used as a training facility for the 2018 IIHF World Championship. The venue hosts Herning Blue Fox in the Danish league. • The Granly Hockey Arena in Esbjerg is the secondary venue for the competition. The facility organised the 2011 World Women's Curling Championship and the 2015 European Curling Championships. The venue was built in 1974 and is home to Esbjerg Energy. ==Format==

The teams were split into two groups, using the serpentine system. The top four teams will advance to the knockout phase, while the bottom teams will play the relegation playoff. During the knockout stage, there will be a re-seeding after the quarterfinals. ==Preliminary round==

The groups were based on the final rankings from the previous tournament. Group A Group B ==Knockout stage==

There will be a re-seeding after the quarterfinals. Bracket ==Notes==