In the dispute over a rejected 400 million euro deal, the ski stars are increasing the pressure on FIS President Johan Eliasch.
In a second incendiary letter within a few days, a number of top athletes accuse the FIS and its controversial president of having created a situation "in which athletes are frustrated by the stagnating progress and the fact that their voices are less and less present in key decisions".
Among others, US ski ace Mikaela Shiffrin, her fiancé and former overall World Cup winner Aleksander Aamodt Kilde and several Swiss athletes such as Michelle Gisin and Gino Caviezel shared the letter on social media. They are calling on the FIS to reconsider a possible partnership with the financial company CVC. On the other hand, a marketing deal that FIS is seeking with the rights dealer Infront should be stopped for the time being.
The background to the escalating dispute is that FIS recently rejected an investor offer of 400 million euros from CVC, which was first reported by the "Süddeutsche Zeitung" and the "Blick". As soon as this became known, several top athletes from the alpine skiing scene signed an initial protest note.
The FIS replied that the CVC offer did not contain any details such as strategic plans. The federation also issued the curious justification that it had "not rejected" the offer, but had decided that it had no need at the moment.
The athletes now announced that they themselves had exchanged views with CVC people in a "constructive, transparent and thoughtfully presented discussion". Although some details still need to be clarified, "we strongly advocate a comprehensive assessment of the opportunities offered by CVC," they wrote. "This moment is too momentous for the future of FIS and our sport to rush into a new agreement without fully exploring all alternatives."
