FIS Faces Financial Reckoning as New President Calls for Immediate Action

The world governing body for skiing and snowboarding is beginning a new season under pressure. At meetings in Geneva this week, the International Ski and Snowboard Federation (FIS) presented national ski associations with a stark assessment of its finances: the federation’s equity fell from CHF 81 million in 2021 to CHF 43 million in 2025—a 47% decline in four years.

With the start of the 2026/27 winter season just a few weeks away, the agenda was rich in sports-specific topics, although discussions also revolved around a pivotal matter for FIS: its financial situation.

Earlier in the week, at the FIS Summit, the new leadership presented the National Ski Associations (NSAs) with a comprehensive and transparent report on the federation’s current financial position. FIS President Alexander Ospelt and FIS Secretary General Urs Lehmann presented the report together with Jean-Philippe Rochat, FIS Treasurer, and Martti Uusitalo, member of the FIS Finance Committee and of the FIS Council’s Finance Review Working Group.

Not only did the report provide member associations and other stakeholders with the current financial situation of FIS, but also with the key factors that have contributed to the developments of recent years, as well as with the measures planned to stabilize the federation’s financial position — essentially, to significantly reduce costs and to generate additional revenues.

The figures do not indicate that FIS is currently insolvent. The federation says it remains debt-free and solvent. But its own leadership acknowledges that the financial trajectory inherited from the previous administration cannot continue. Alexander Ospelt, elected president in June after defeating Johan Eliasch by a single vote, described the organisation as being at “a critical moment” requiring “immediate and decisive action.”

The response will centre on two priorities: reducing expenditure and generating new income. FIS says structural and financial measures are being developed with national ski associations and other partners, with the stated goals of restoring financial discipline, rebuilding long-term sustainability and protecting the wider snow-sports ecosystem.

A federation under pressure

The financial crisis follows years of ambitious commercial and organisational change. During Eliasch’s presidency, FIS pursued a more centralised model for media, marketing and digital rights, including the development of FIS’s own digital platforms and a stronger push to control and commercialise the federation’s global assets. Supporters viewed the strategy as an attempt to modernise a traditional sports organisation and increase its international reach.

Critics, however, objected to the pace of change and the lack of consultation with national federations and other stakeholders. Ospelt’s election campaign, built around the slogan “Building Bridges”, promised a more collaborative approach and greater unity between the federation’s largest and smallest members.

The narrowness of the election result underscored the divisions. Ospelt won 65–64, giving him the presidency but not an overwhelming mandate. His immediate challenge is therefore political as well as financial: he must persuade national associations that difficult decisions will be made transparently and that the costs of recovery will not fall disproportionately on organisers, athletes or smaller federations.

Who will bear the cost?

A reduction in FIS spending is likely to affect more than the organisation’s headquarters. National ski associations, World Cup organisers and other partners are closely tied to FIS through calendars, sanctioning, media rights and event requirements.

Potential reductions in staffing and operating costs could alter the way events are planned and administered. At the same time, new revenue measures could involve commercial partnerships, expanded media products, sponsorship arrangements or changes to the financial relationship between FIS and its member associations.

That creates a difficult balance. FIS needs to increase its commercial value without making the World Cup circuit more expensive or less attractive to host venues. Many race organisers already face rising costs linked to snowmaking, safety, transport, infrastructure and climate-related uncertainty. Any additional financial burden could place pressure on the viability of traditional events, particularly those outside the wealthiest markets.

The federation’s financial reset will also test the promise of a more united FIS. National associations may support the need for discipline, but they will want clarity over where savings are made, how new revenue is distributed and whether the reforms improve the sport at every level—from elite competition to development programmes.

The 2028 World Championships plan abandoned

One immediate consequence of the review is the decision to abandon plans for an additional FIS World Championships in the 2027–28 calendar. The idea had been to introduce major championships in even-numbered, non-Olympic years, potentially creating a more regular global event cycle.

FIS commissioned an external feasibility study to examine whether a pilot edition could be staged as early as 2028. Its conclusion was that the late timetable would create risks for both the quality of the event and its ability to generate commercial value. The Council therefore decided not to proceed with the 2028 edition, while leaving open the possibility of introducing such an event from 2032 onwards.

The decision is significant because an additional World Championships could have created new broadcast, sponsorship and hosting revenue. Yet staging a major event within less than two years would also have required substantial investment and coordination. In the current financial climate, FIS has chosen to prioritise stability over expansion.

Commercial growth versus financial restraint

The central question for Ospelt is whether FIS can become more commercially effective while simultaneously spending less.

The federation’s recent strategy was based partly on the belief that skiing and snowboarding were under-commercialised compared with other global sports. A stronger central structure could, in theory, create more valuable media packages, improve storytelling around athletes and make the sports more attractive to international sponsors.

But commercial growth takes time. It requires investment in production, technology, marketing and audience development before returns are guaranteed. The new leadership must decide which projects can generate sustainable income and which have become expensive distractions.

The challenge is especially acute in a fragmented winter-sports landscape. Alpine skiing, cross-country, ski jumping, snowboarding and freestyle all have different audiences, calendars and commercial identities. FIS must find ways to grow the overall brand without weakening the individual disciplines or alienating the federations that provide the sport’s competitive structure.

A new political chapter

Ospelt’s arrival marks a change in tone as much as a change in leadership. The election campaign revealed a federation divided over governance, financial oversight and the distribution of power between FIS, national associations and athletes.

His victory was supported by several influential skiing nations, while his programme emphasised dialogue, athlete interests, broader branding opportunities and a more balanced relationship between large and small federations.

That agenda now faces its first serious test. Financial recovery will require unpopular choices, and unity is difficult to maintain when budgets are being cut. Ospelt must show that the new FIS is not simply changing its rhetoric, but changing the way decisions are made.

The federation’s next phase will therefore be judged on three results: whether it can stop the erosion of its reserves, whether it can rebuild trust among its members and whether it can turn winter sports’ global popularity into reliable long-term revenue.

For now, the message from Geneva is clear. FIS is not declaring bankruptcy—but it is acknowledging that its existing model is unsustainable. The new administration has inherited a federation with major commercial potential, but also a shrinking financial cushion and little time to act. As the 2026–27 season approaches, the most important race may be taking place away from the slopes: the race to put the organisation’s finances back on track.