The games in the Bosnian capital will pit Slovenia's Olimpija Ljubljana against two Austrian teams, VSV Villach on January 10 and KAC Klagenfurt two days later.

It is the third of a series of matches in the league - which is based in Austria but also consists of teams from Slovenia, Italy, Hungary and the Czech Republic - played in the Balkan region, following events in Zagreb and Ljubljana, and will mark the first occasion in which a match has taken place outside a country that participates in the competition. 

Games will be played in the Olympic Hall Juan Antonio Samaranch - formerly known as Zetra Olympic Hall, where the most important matches of the 1984 ice hockey tournament, including the final, were staged.

The Soviet Union celebrate after defeating Czechoslovakia to win the men's title at the 1984 Olympic Ice Hockey competition in Sarajevo ©AFP/Getty Images



After the Olympics, ice hockey enjoyed a surge in popularity in Sarajevo, and when local team HK Bosnia defeated Olimpija Ljubljana soon after the Games a record crowd of 9,000 was present.

But just over eight years after Sarajevo so successfully hosted the Winter Olympics, Zetra and ice hockey in the city were in ruins as the ravages of war were taking its toll following the break-up of Yugoslavia.

But thanks to Bosnian determination and a helping hand from international aid, Zetra was rebuilt in 1999 and later named in honour of Juan Antonio Samaranch, the former President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) following his death in 2010.

Sarajevo is still recovering from the impact of the 1990's wars ©AFP/Getty Images

Almost six years have passed since Bosnia and Herzegovina's national team last played in a qualification tournament for the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) World Championship Division III, losing out to Greece on home ice in Sarajevo.

For years its development has been hindered either by financial hardship or adverse weather conditions as heavy snowfall made the roofs cave in on the city rinks in both 2007 and 2012.

But with the setting up of the Balkan Ice Hockey Union (BIHU) in 2011, where nine countries joined together in an effort to develop and promote ice hockey in the region for players under the age of 16, improvements have emerged.

This was something pointed out by Bosnia and Herzegovina Ice Hockey Federation official Haris Muhić, who also pointed out the fact that Sarajevo's hosting of the 2017 European Youth Olympic Winter Festival will offer greater chances to develop the sport in future years.

"The Sarajevo IceFest 2014 will be a very good platform for promoting ice hockey in Bosnia and Herzegovina as we are trying to develop the game and I also hope it can help us to recruit more kids," he said.

"With the Youth Olympic Winter Festival being held in Sarajevo, an ice rink with around 2,000 seats will be built in the city and another arena is also to be constructed in the nearby town of Pale.

"As for national teams, our aim is to have both under 18 and under 20 national teams playing in the qualification tournaments for the World Championship next year."