The board of the Finnish Olympic Committee made important decisions at its meeting on Monday.
The Board of the Finnish Olympic Committee decided the Olympic Committee bulletin in its Monday meeting about the measures by which the committee will be “strongly reformed”.
First of all, the Olympic Committee will move to the Olympic Stadium in the spring of 2025.
– We want to make it possible for the Olympic Committee to have a fresh start in new facilities and an environment that breathes life into Finland’s glorious sports history. We hope that a new home for the entire sports community will be built at the Olympic Stadium, which will also be joined by other sports and sports organizations, Chairman of the Olympic Committee Jan Vapaavuori tells.
CEO of the Olympic Committee Taina Susiluoto tells that moving to the Olympic Stadium is a cost-effective solution for the entire sports community.
At this stage, only the Olympic Committee has confirmed its move, but it is possible that it will get companions from other member organizations based in Pitäjänmäki.
Presidential elections
A new board and chairman will be elected for the Olympic Committee at the fall meeting on November 30. The board decided to present the 2025 financial and operating plan to the annual meeting for approval, with a total budget of approximately nine million euros.
Olympic javelin champion, principal of Kuortane sports college Tapio Korjus is so far the only sure name in the chairman game.
Vice-president of the International Ski Federation Martti Uusitalo confirmed to that he has been asked to participate in the competition.
Korjus, member of the board of the Olympic Committee, is a candidate promoted by the Sports Federation. The big team sports and the Gymnastics Federation have teamed up to find a common candidate to challenge Korju, but the results of the recruitment work have at least not been made public.
Change negotiations
The board of the Olympic Committee gave Taina Susiluoto, CEO of the Olympic Committee, a mandate to initiate change negotiations, which will target the entire organization, excluding the elite sports unit.
– Securing top sporting success towards the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics is our top priority. The result of the Paris Olympics was a huge disappointment, and we believe that top sports must be given peace to organize themselves through the new management that will be elected at the beginning of next year, commented Susiluoto.
– With change negotiations, we react to the difficult economic situation; the challenges of both the business world and the sports sponsor market are well-known, and the autumn has been difficult for our own fundraising, Susiluoto admits.
Susiluoto tells that the need to reduce is “less than 10 people” at this stage.
Strategic renewal
– Based on the investigations and analyzes started a year ago, we are moving towards a wider reform of the Olympic Committee, says Vapaavuori.
The board also decided on the presentation to the fall meeting regarding the studies of the sports and sports community, which aims to clarify the common goal, roles and tasks of the sports and sports community, as well as cost-effectiveness measures.
At the autumn meeting, decisions will be made regarding the centralization of common services, the initiation of joint strategic work of the sports community, and a participatory management model.
– The Olympic Committee must do everything it can to improve its operations for the benefit of Finnish physical activity and sports as a whole. The Olympic Committee cannot succeed in this work alone, but needs the support of athletes and coaches, member organizations, the Ministry of Education and Culture, commercial partners and the entire network, Vapaavuori says.
– In connection with the renewal, it is important to invest heavily in better cooperation and trust with these entities. This is something whose need also came up in the external evaluation of elite sports carried out by the ministry.