Neither Sweden nor England was willing to nominate Eliasch for re-election as FIS President. He has now found a new solution to stand for the position.

Johan Eliasch is a highly controversial president of the International Ski Federation, with several countries seeking a change in leadership. The millionaire grew up in Danderyd and Stockholm but is now primarily based in London.

The businessman Eliasch owns the ski brand Head and travels in a private jet. One of his ambitions was to become the new president of the IOC, but he finished at the bottom of the voting, where former swimmer Kirsty Coventry from Zimbabwe emerged victorious, succeeding German Thomas Bach.

Johan Eliasch holds citizenship in both Sweden and the United Kingdom, and to run for the FIS presidency, he must be nominated by a country of which he is a citizen. However, neither Sweden nor the UK is willing to support Eliasch.

Sweden has now announced that it proposes Karin Mattsson to continue in the FIS Council as the Swedish representative.

“The board has made a comprehensive and well-founded assessment. Karin Mattsson has demonstrated good international cooperation skills through her work in the FIS Council. The board therefore continues to have confidence in her potential to contribute both to the development of FIS and to strengthening Sweden’s international position,” says Maria Krafft Helgesson, acting chairwoman of the Swedish Ski Association, in a press release.

The UK, which nominated Eliasch when he was elected FIS president in 2021, has now instead nominated Victoria Gosling as a presidential candidate. According to Finnish YLE, she is expected to face competition from Dexter Paine (USA), Alexander Opselt (Liechtenstein), and Anna Harboe Falkenberg (Denmark), among possibly others.

If Eliasch were to become a contender in this race, it would depend on whether he could secure a nomination. However, it seems he has found a solution. On Wednesday evening, FIS presented the candidates, and it became clear that Eliasch is saved by Georgia, where he has obtained new citizenship. According to FIS regulations, one must be nominated from a country of which they are a citizen.

Earlier in the week, there were also rumors that Eliasch was being considered for Armenia.

The presidential election will take place at the FIS Congress in Belgrade in June.