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FIS President Johan Eliasch congratulates Marco Odermatt on winning the downhill crystal globe.
Imago
FIS President Johan Eliasch was quickly naturalized in Georgia in order to position himself for re-election. Swiss-Ski and some other federations are anything but happy about this.
Irritant figure Johan Eliasch, a British and Swedish citizen, was not put forward for re-election as FIS President by either federation. In order to have a chance of remaining in office after all, he quickly had himself naturalized in Georgia. And the Georgian federation then also nominated him for election.
Swiss-Ski has a clear opinion on the matter. CEO Diego Züger speaks plainly in an interview with SRF: "Johan Eliasch is not an option for us. We don't want a president who seeks citizenship anywhere in the world just to stay in office." It speaks for itself that Eliasch has not been nominated by either the Swedish or the British association.
And Züger gives the neo-Georgian a damning report: "The FIS is in a worrying state. 80 to 100 million of its assets have been spent more or less without a concept in recent years."
He was not really surprised by Eliasch's political move with the naturalization in Georgia: "We have learned to deal with surprises in recent years. Accordingly, something like this was on the cards."
Eliasch has therefore already done enough damage during his five years in office. Last year alone, the company reported a loss of around 25 million, despite announcing in September that it would be a record year, explains Züger. "Next year there will be a loss again. That means we're going 180 against the wall. Now we really need to pull the handbrake."
For the election at the FIS Congress on June 11, Swiss-Ski will agree on another candidate with other federations, Züger continued.
Research by FIS athlete spokesperson AJ Ginnis, the Greek World Championship silver medal winner in slalom in 2023, states: "On December 31, 2025, the FIS had equity of just under 43 million. Five years ago, it still had 130 million in its coffers."
Ginnis has therefore written a letter on behalf of many athletes to ensure that Eliasch is not re-elected. Marco Odermatt has also signed this letter. In an interview withBlick, he says: "I had high hopes for him a few years ago. Because he was new to this system, thinks a little differently and, as an entrepreneur, understands the global economy very well."
However, developments in recent years show that things are going in the wrong direction. "And that's why there's not much choice but to make a change at the top of the FIS." Daniel Yule also finds clear words: "Eliasch has promised us so much since he took office in 2021 and has delivered nothing."
