Ice Hockey UK chairman Richard Grieveson has thanked everyone involved in the bid – and the support back in the UK – after the announcement that The SSE Arena in Belfast would be the venue for the World Championship Division I Group B.

IHUK, along with Belfast Giants and The SSE Arena, went head-to-head with Estonia to host the 2017 tournament and took the vote by a margin of 18-7.

The six teams in the group get to vote, along with the IIHF Council members.

Great Britain & Northern Ireland will host Croatia, Estonia, Japan, Lithuania and Netherlands, with the tournament running from Sunday 23rd to Saturday 29th April 2017.

It is the first time since Hull in 1992 that a Men’s World Championship will be held in the UK.

Chairman Grieveson gave a successful presentation to Congress and said: “Today is a great day for our sport in the UK. The IIHF have shown faith in us to deliver at this prestigious level.

“This, I believe, demonstrates the increasing credibility we have on an international stage.

“We must use this success as a driver to continue on our journey of improvement and development at a domestic level.

“I want to thank the partners who helped us develop this bid. The IHUK board demonstrated significant due diligence to consider all matters in preparing our bid and this was very important and appreciated by Congress.

“Finally from me, thank you for the immense support from back home. In return, my commitment to you is that we will continue to work as hard as we can to develop the game in the UK and hosting this World Championship is a great step forward.”