ZURICH – The Ice Hockey Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina has withdrawn its team from the 2017 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship Division III that will start on Monday in Sofia, Bulgaria.

The tournament will be played as planned and no changes to the game schedule will be made. However, all Bosnia & Herzegovina games will count as forfeited (5-0 win for the opposing team) and will not be played.

As a result and according to IIHF Bylaws 610 and 703, no team participating in the championship will be relegated from the 2017 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship Division III, however, Bosnia & Herzegovina will be demoted. Further withdrawal consequences will be discussed.

The 2017 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship Division III will be played 10-16 April with seven teams split into two groups followed by the cross-over semi-finals and placement games.

Bulgaria, Hong Kong and Chinese Taipei will play in Group A and South Africa, Luxembourg, the United Arab Emirates and Georgia in Group B.