Struggling with financial difficulties, the Ski Federation intends to focus on its core activities, i.e. the development of top sports and club activities. All other business takes a back seat at this stage.
The Finnish Ski Federation announced on Monday that the commercial director of the federation Jari-Pekka Jouppi will leave the association’s activities this fall.
The decision is part of the financial adjustment measures of the Ski Federation and its commercial company Nordic Ski Finland Oy. The union aims to save more than 400,000 euros by the end of October.
– The last few years have been challenging due to the corona epidemic, the energy crisis, the war in Ukraine and the economic recession. Because of these challenges, we have to adapt our operations in order to secure successful operations in the future, Executive Director of the Ski Association Ismo Hämäläinen says in the announcement.
Sponsor negotiations have a tight schedule
The association plans to reorganize its operations in order to focus on its strategic pillars, i.e. successful elite sports and the development of club activities. According to Joup, the association has “significant sponsor negotiations” going on for next season and he is getting them to the finish line before he leaves.
– Even though there are still four months until the start of the season, there is a rush to finish the negotiations after the summer holidays. The Ski Federation has been very successful in the sponsor market and I see no reason why the same should not continue. The drastic increase in costs has certainly brought challenges to the operation, but these issues have been resolved during the summer, Jouppi states in the press release.
According to the association, the importance of its main sources of income, i.e. the Ruka and Lahti World Cups and the Suomen Cup, will become even more important in the future. The development of other business activities and the expansion of marketing concepts will take a back seat at this stage.
– The situation in the sponsor market is challenging, but luckily skiing is still interesting and we have good opportunities to supplement the partner network, Hämäläinen says.
In July, the association and Nordic Ski Finland Oy had to lay off their personnel for 4–8 weeks, a total of three personnel years.