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Johan Eliasch has been voted out as FIS president – and his record is disastrous. He leaves the deeply divided World Ski Association with delicate tasks. A comment.
Business leaders are often seen as beacons of hope when they take over an association or a government institution. They should break up encrusted structures, implement reforms and streamline processes. These were also the expectations of Johan Eliasch when he became President of the International Ski and Snowboard Federation FIS in 2021.
A billionaire, a successful businessman, a supposed doer at the head of a rather cozy association that has only had two presidents in the previous 70 years, both from Switzerland. Eliasch promised golden times with international growth and millions in prize money like in tennis.
| Period | name | nation |
|---|---|---|
2026 – | Alexander Ospelt | Liechtenstein |
2021 – 2026 | Johan Eliasch | Sweden/UK |
1998 – 2021 | Gian Franco Kasper | Switzerland |
1951 – 1998 | Marc Hodler | Switzerland |
1934 – 1951 | Nikolai Ramm Oestgaard | Norway |
1924 – 1934 | Ivar Holmquist | Sweden |
An association run like a company
And, you have to give him that: Eliasch did exactly what many had wanted. The owner and managing director of the ski manufacturer Head ran the association like a company. Whatever Johan Eliasch sets out to do, he implements – this reputation precedes him. And it was with this approach that the problems began.
A declared main goal was to market the rights to the World Cups centrally and ourselves instead of commissioning external service providers. Eliasch wanted to implement this as quickly as possible and paid little attention to the interests of the national associations or current contracts.
dispute over Central marketing
The result was years of power struggles and expensive court cases, most of which the FIS lost. After five years of Eliasch, the once wealthy association is in a significantly worse financial situation, with fewer reserves and problematic balance sheets. Although Eliasch has implemented central marketing, external companies are still involved. And many people doubt whether revenues will actually increase in the coming years.
Associations threaten to split off
In the meantime, the tensions were so enormous that large European associations more or less openly threatened to secede. Until recently, the scenario was in the air that top events like Wengen or Kitzbühel could no longer run as FIS World Cups in the future, but as independent races.
When it came to the FIS in the last five years, it was mostly about problems, power struggles and mutual accusations. Eliasch has failed in his attempt to rule a sports association. Although he still had many supporters, especially among smaller associations, this was shown by the extremely close election results with a difference of just one vote. But ultimately the opposition with Austria, Switzerland and Germany won the power struggle – and the German Ski Association (DSV) is talking about the end of one “long-time nightmare”.
What the FIS has ahead of FIFA
The FIS can consider itself lucky that it gives the large ski nations more voting weight in presidential elections than small associations; the ratio is three to one. In the world football association FIFA, every association has one vote – regardless of its size.
Of course, one of the goals of the FIS should be to spread skiing internationally. The popularity of freestyle disciplines is growing in Asia and Australia in particular. But a FIS president must not be able to make policy without taking into account those nations that attract a large audience in the Alpine region and Scandinavia and therefore generate the greatest income.
Farce about the “climate-positive association”
The self-proclaimed environmentalist Eliasch embarrassed himself with the fairy tale that the FIS was the first climate-positive sports association in the world. The FIS “Rainforest Initiative,” which was founded for this deceptive maneuver, turned out to be a sham. Numerous athletes protested and instead demanded real measures to reduce CO2 emissions.
Eliasch leaves behind a deeply divided, battered association with a battered reputation. His successor Alexander Ospelt now has the main task of smoothing things over and rebuilding trust. In addition, things could become explosive if the Eliasch critics can now take a closer look at the FIS balance sheets and business. The processing is likely to take years.
The new FIS President Alexander Ospelt at the FIS Congress in Belgrade