FIS President Johan Eliasch wants to take the sport of skiing further and is targeting new markets. Will the World Cup season soon no longer start in Europe?
No time? blue News summarizes for you
- The FIS wants centralized marketing to take the sport of skiing further.
- To this end, it wants to open up new markets, which has met with approval from the federations.
- Races in South America are possible, but the question of financing must first be clarified, says FIS spokesman Bruno Sassi.
Since taking office in 2021, Johan Eliasch has repeatedly incurred the displeasure of the national ski federations. The discussion about central marketing has been going on for some time. In spring, the power struggle between the FIS and the federations came to a head.
The international ski association had approved the centralized marketing of media rights on its own initiative - which led to certain members taking the matter to court. "We are clearly in favour of centralization. But even with centralized marketing, the ownership of the rights must remain in the respective organizing countries," Diego Züger, CEO Commercial of Swiss-Ski, told blue Sport in May.
Züger is now expressing a similar view to "Blick" when it comes to holding the season opener in Argentina. The idea has potential, but a clear concept is needed. The sport can only grow if World Cup races are held in as many parts of the world as possible, adds Swiss Ski President Urs Lehmann.
One argument in favor of races in South America is that most nations prepare for the season in Ushuaia in the summer and would therefore already be there. "It's more ecological if you take advantage of this right away," Michelle Gisin is quoted as saying in the report.
So will Sölden soon have to hand over the season opener to Argentina? As FIS spokesperson Bruno Sassi is quoted in "Blick", the World Ski Federation has already been thinking about this for two or three years. The undertaking is "more complex than it seems". This is because it needs to be clarified whether financing is possible for the TV broadcasters. The standard should be as high as for races in Europe.
