The event has been moved from Odessa to Kyiv ©IIHF

Organisers of the 2018 International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) Under-18 World Championship Division I Group B have been forced to move the event from Odessa to Kyiv due to "building defects".

The IIHF confirmed the Ice Hockey Federation of Ukraine had applied to switch the competition from the Odessa Sports Palace after issues with the reconstruction of the venue were discovered.

Ice hockey's worldwide governing has accepted the request, meaning the tournament will take place as planned from April 14 to 20.

Kyiv's Palace of Sports, which hosted the 2017 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship Division I Group A competition, has stepped in as a replacement venue.

"The Ice Hockey Federation of Ukraine originally planned to host the event at the country’s biggest city at the Black Sea," the IIHF said in a statement.

"However, the reconstruction of the Odessa Sports Palace will take longer than foreseen after defects at the building have been discovered."

The tournament was initially due to be held in Odessa ©Getty Images
The tournament was initially due to be held in Odessa ©Getty Images

The event will include Hungary, Austria, Japan, Italy, hosts Ukraine and Romania. 

Hungary were relegated from Division I Group A, while Romania will take part after they finished at the summit of Division II A.

The teams are set to battle it out for promotion to Division I Group A, which is one step below the top division of the Under-18 World Championship.

Bled in Slovenia is scheduled to host the 2018 Division I Group A event.

The main 2018 Under-18 World Championship is set to take place in Russia from April 19 to 29.