FIS Council makes sports-focused decisions, addresses financial situation

The FIS Council held a meeting this Thursday in Geneva, Switzerland, where the FIS Family is gathered for the FIS Autumn Meetings.  

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 presented show that FIS remains solvent and debt-free, but also that the financial trajectory inherited from the previous FIS leadership is not sustainable. Between 2021 and 2025, for example, FIS equity decreased by 47%, from CHF 81 million to CHF 43 million.

Future of major global events 

Having previously agreed on exploring the concept of adding an edition of the FIS World Championships to the four-year Olympic cycle — in even, non-Olympic years — as of 2032, the FIS Council revisited the subject in Geneva.  

The Council assessed the viability of organizing a pilot edition of the additional World Championships as early as 2028. For that assessment, members were presented with a feasibility study commissioned by FIS from an external consultant.  

The analysis concluded that the late go-to-market timeline would pose risks to the quality of the execution and limit the potential to generate value. In light of that result, the Council agreed to abandon the idea of adding any such event to the 2027/2028 calendar. 

The same study reinforced the notion that snow sports can generate value and add reach by occupying the gap in the global sports calendar represented by even, non-Olympic years. The FIS Council, therefore, reiterated the willingness to keep exploring the concept of filling that slot with a major global event as of 2032.

Backing Nordic Combined 

At its previous meeting, in September, the FIS Council discussed the situation of Nordic Combined and expressed full support for the discipline following its exclusion from the Olympic Winter Games after more than 100 years of history.

One of the takeaways from last month’s Council session was that to raise Nordic Combined’s reach and appeal, FIS should work on innovative competition formats.  

To that effect, FIS’ Sport department joined forces with NSAs, organizers, and specialists from different areas of the organization for a workshop, which presented new ideas that will be tested as early as this winter. They are grounded in six key principles: 

• Cross-Country and Ski Jumping ideally taken place at a single venue 

• Total duration of around 60 minutes, fit for broadcast 

• Head-to-head: race in heats and with a clear final 

• First athlete to cross the finish line is the overall winner 

• Ski Jumping points remain relevant until the final 

• Simpler rules and easier judging 

Wild card entries 

The FIS Council approved the detailed conditions under which athletes who hold a wild card under the existing FIS Alpine Ski World Cup rules — currently, Marcel Hirscher (NED) and Lindsey Vonn (USA), who in 2025/26 collected enough points to start without a wild card — can compete in the 2026/27 season. The starting position of wild card holders should be bib number 31. 

New host appointed 

The Council approved the candidature submitted by the National Ski Association of Türkiye for Erzurum of Palandöken to host the FIS Snowboard Cross Junior World Championships 2027 from 23 to 25 February 2027. 

The next FIS Council meeting is scheduled to take place online on 3 November 2026.