The controversial President of the Ski World Association, Johan Eliasch, is again under criticism. It is about a possible conflict of interest in providing clothing for association employees. Eliasch is not only Fis President, but also the majority shareholder of the manufacturer. The world association rejects all allegations.
In the debate about a possible conflict of interest with Fis President Johan Eliasch, national associations are calling for extensive clarification within the World Ski Federation. “It seems imperative that the Fis now has the entire process examined as quickly and transparently as possible by an independent commission,” said Stefan Schwarzbach, board member of the German Ski Association. The Secretary General of the Austrian Ski Association, Christian Scherer, sees a “need for clarification”.
According to reports in the “Süddeutsche Zeitung”, the “Kleine Zeitung” and the “Salzburger Nachrichten”, Fis employees were equipped by the sporting goods company Head this winter. Eliasch is not only Fis President, but also the majority shareholder of Head. Critics accuse the businessman of a conflict of interest. In addition, Fis is said to have had a cheaper offer.
The world association then rejected the accusation: “Head is not an official supplier to Fis and there is no partnership. Fis purchased the Fis branded clothing from Head for the 2022/2023 season because there were no suitable offers from other suppliers.” Accordingly, Eliasch only agreed on the condition “that the clothing has no explicit head branding and will be offered at cost price or below,” as Fis announced. Otherwise, the 60-year-old Swedish-British entrepreneur is said to have been involved neither in the tendering nor in the decision-making process.
“If the published results of the research are correct, that primarily casts a bad light on the governance of the world association,” said Diego Züger, marketing director at the Swiss Ski Association. The Fis itself must strive to clarify the facts and, if necessary, to take measures. Eliasch has been criticized since taking office in 2021. His ideas of holding indoor races in Dubai or of marketing alpine racing centrally in the future and thus depriving the national associations of rights caused displeasure, among other things. Most recently, the International Court of Arbitration for Sports CAS had initiated proceedings against Eliasch’s re-election after complaints from several associations.
