The Championship will be staged at the 3,800-seat USA Hockey Arena in Plymouth, Michigan and the smaller Ann Arbor Ice Cube in Ann Arbor.

Slovenia has been awarded host status for the 2020 IIHF World Championship Division I Group A at Arena Stozice, Ljubljana from April 24 to 30.

The arena first hosted the event seven years ago, when more than 10,000 fans filled the arena to watch the home nation earn promotion to the top division.

Romania withdrew its bid because construction of the new arena in Bucharest stopped recently and they could not guarantee it would be ready in time.

France, Austria, Korea, Slovenia, Hungary and Romania will play at the event and battle for promotion to the top level for the 2021 IIHF World Championship in Minsk, Belarus, and Riga, Latvia.

One tier below, Katowice in Poland will stage the 2020 IIHF World Championship Division I Group B in the historical Spodek arena, which hosted the 2016 IIHF World Championship Division I Group A tournament.

It is well-known for hosting the top-level 1976 World Championships, when Poland caused one of the biggest upsets in history by beating the Soviet Union 6-4.

Another former World Championship arena to be used is Chizhovka Arena in Minsk, which will host the Under-20 World Championship Division I Group A from December 8 to 14 this year. 

It will be used as a trial run for Belarussian organisers ahead of the 2021 World Championships.

A record 54 teams will participate in the men’s senior category with Malaysia and the Philippines joining, while 40 teams will contest the women’s senior category, including first-time participants Lithuania. 

New divisions and groups are in the pipeline, including a Division IV in the men’s senior category after approval by delegates with an adjustment in IIHF statutes and by-laws.

Although Slovakia entered an application to stage the 2020 IIHF Under-18 Women's World Championship, the decision was deferred until September.

Swiss city Zurich had already been announced as hosts for the 2020 IIHF World Championships, while the 2020 IIHF World Junior Championship will be staged by Ostrava and Trinec in the Czech Republic.

Canada will host the 2020 IIHF Women's World Championships in Halifax and Truro in the eastern province of Nova Scotia, between March 31 and April 10.