The details of the FIS proposal, which are available to the sports show, are explosive: Among other things, the FIS member associations should in future have a so-called “Concorde Agreement” sign, whose name is based on similar contracts in Formula 1.
The draft contract essentially grants the FIS all ownership, commercial and marketing rights to all World Cup events. You can also read that the FIS will in future only award its World Cup events to those member associations that have signed the Concorde agreement “and/or to local organizers in the territory of a member association”.
Important information only sent at short notice
So far, the marketing rights have been held by the national associations in whose areas the World Cups take place. For the big ski nations in the Alpine region and in Scandinavia, their World Cups are a central business area that is now in danger of collapsing. The uncertainty had been great for weeks because the FIS leadership had not kept the national federations up to date about their actions. This was reported by the former FIS TV consultant, Richard Bunn, to the WDR background magazine Sport inside.
The FIS Council members also only received the details 44 hours before the meeting – and they probably didn’t agree.
Key role for Peter Schröcksnadel?
President Eliasch would need a simple majority to approve his plans; in the event of a tie, his own vote would be decisive. With 18 voting council members, ten no votes would be necessary to prevent the advance. The major European associations from Switzerland, Italy, Finland, Norway and Sweden are each represented by one voting member, the German Ski Association with its President Franz Steinle.
On the other hand, smaller ski nations and their representatives in the council could hope to benefit from central marketing. In a letter to the Council members, the FIS promises one “Win-win situation for all our member associations” and a “World Cup income guarantee”. ÖSV and Peter Schröcksnadel could play a key role. The long-standing President of the Austrian Ski Association (ÖSV) changed direction at short notice during the most recent FIS election in June 2021 and supported Eliasch at the time – but was also critical of the push for central marketing.
Some of the existing contracts are still valid for several years
For practical implementation, the FIS wants to set up “FIS Media & Marketing”, or “FIS M&M” for short. However, time is pressing, after all the association wants to market the World Cups itself as early as next winter. Until then, Eliasch still has other hurdles to clear: the existing contracts between the national associations, private marketing agencies such as Infront and TV stations.
Many of these contracts still run for several years, but Eliasch apparently does not feel bound by them. Complaints are apparently taken into account, after all the letter says: “The FIS will award all National Ski Associations compensation for all claims by Infront, including costs, arising from the proposed changes in the marketing of World Cup rights.”
The dispute concerns courts
In 2009, the FIS founded the FIS-Marketing-AG (FISMAG) for the sponsoring area together with Infront and the marketing company Tridem Sports. Eliasch also wants to end this joint venture. “We have terminated all agreements related to FISMAG, so we have removed this obstacle to realizing our sponsorship potential”, it says in the letter to the council members.
However, according to sports show information, the handling of FISMAG has not yet been regulated, Swiss courts are currently busy with injunctions.
Fewer World Cups in Germany
The decision about central marketing is also about the fact that the smaller nations should get more of the cake. The world association writes to the council members: “FIS is committed to using the profits to increase prize money for athletes, improve the World Cup product and improve our sport in developing ski nations.”
The new World Cup calendar, which was approved at the council meeting, provides further indications of where the FIS is headed: fewer competitions in Germany, but more in North America and Asia. The Olympic host country China, like India, the USA or Canada, is considered a growth market with many potential new skiers.
Further ambiguity about Eliasch’s role Head
This is also interesting for ski manufacturers. Eliasch is the owner of the successful winter sports brand Head and, according to company registers, continued to be their managing director, although he announced his resignation immediately after his election as FIS President. Eliasch did not want to clarify this contradiction, he left a sport-inside request unanswered at the beginning of March.
Because the sports show the details of the “concorde-Agreement” only at short notice, she was only able to ask the FIS questions about two hours before the start of the Council meeting. The world association published a press release on Thursday evening, which, however, left the questions about central marketing unanswered.
Disagreement between FIS and big ski nations?
Eliasch’s central marketing project is met with criticism, especially from the big ski nations. Their self-image is to form the traditional heart of skiing with the greatest interest from the spectators. Due to the FIS projects, conflict-ridden times could be imminent.