The 2012 Bandy World Championship was an edition of the top annual event in international bandy, held between January 29 and February 5, 2012, in Almaty, Kazakhstan. 14 countries participated in the 2012 championships: Finland, Kazakhstan, Norway, Russia, Sweden, the United States (group A), Belarus, Canada, Hungary, Latvia, and the Netherlands (group B), and Estonia, Japan, and Kyrgyzstan (group C). Group C was introduced, and 14 teams made the record number for Bandy World Championships. The qualifiers match between the team in the last place in Group A and the first team in Group B was not played. The United States, who finished sixth in Group A, in 2013 will play in group B, and Belarus, the winner of Group B, will play in 2013 in Group A. Estonia, the winner of Group C, will play in Group B in 2013. The team relegated to Group C was not the last of Group B, but Mongolia, because they withdrew late from the tournament.

Sweden, which were the 2010 champion but in 2011 only finished third, became the champion again. Russia, the defending champion, lost to Sweden in the finals. Kazakhstan took the bronze medal, for the third time in their history.

The semifinal match between Kazakhstan and Sweden, which Sweden won on penalties, ended in a controversy, since the Swedish player Daniel Mossberg was not listed in the paperwork submitted by Sweden before the match. Kazakhstan filed a protest. As the result, Sweden were fined, but the result was kept, and Sweden went on to the finals against Russia.

Squads

Group A

Preliminary round

TeamPldWDLGFGAGDPts
Russia55005416+3810
Sweden5401497+428
Kazakhstan53024025+156
Finland52032230−84
Norway51041047−372
United States50051060−500
29 January 2012
Sweden12–0Finland
Russia19–3United States
Kazakhstan10–1Norway
30 January 2012
Russia5–4Finland
Sweden11–0Norway
Kazakhstan13–3United States
31 January 2012
Finland7–1United States
Russia16–1Norway
Kazakhstan1–9Sweden
1 February 2012
Finland7–2Norway
Sweden15–0United States
Kazakhstan6–8Russia
2 February 2012
Norway6–3United States
Kazakhstan10–4Finland
Russia6–2Sweden

Knockout phase

Semi-finalsFinal
4 February - Almaty
Russia6
5 February - Almaty
Finland4
Russia4
4 February - Almaty
Sweden5
Kazakhstan4 (5)
Sweden4 (6)
Third place
5 February - Almaty
Kazakhstan10
Finland5

Semi-finals

4 February 2012
Russia6–4Finland
Kazakhstan4–4 (5–6)Sweden

Match for third place

5 February 2012
Kazakhstan10–5Finland

Final

5 February 2012
Russia4–5Sweden

Group B

Preliminary round

TeamPldWDLGFGAGDPts
Belarus44004310+338
Canada43013510+256
Hungary42021527−124
Netherlands41031023−132
Latvia4004942−330
30 January 2012
Netherlands6–2Latvia
Belarus13–5Hungary
31 January 2012
Hungary4–2Latvia
Canada11–1Netherlands
1 February 2012
Canada11–1Hungary
Belarus19–3Latvia
2 February 2012
Belarus6–0Canada
Hungary5–1Netherlands
3 February 2012
Belarus5–2Netherlands
Canada13–2Latvia

Final tour

Match for fourth place

4 February 2012
Latvia2–1Netherlands

Match for second place

4 February 2012
Canada9–2Hungary

Group C

Preliminary round

Note - Matches were of 60 minutes duration rather than the standard 90 minutes in Groups A and B.'

TeamPldWDLGFGAGDPts
Estonia4310335+287
Japan4211258+175
Kyrgyzstan4004146−450
30 January 2012
Estonia6–2Japan
Estonia13–0Kyrgyzstan
31 January 2012
Japan13–0Kyrgyzstan
Estonia12–1Kyrgyzstan
1 February 2012
Estonia2–2Japan
Japan8–0Kyrgyzstan

Final tour

Match for second place

4 February 2012
Japan4–0Kyrgyzstan

Gallery