FIS Council elects Oberstdorf as hosts of the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships 2031

Jul 07, 2026·Inside FIS

This Tuesday, FIS President Alexander Ospelt and the members of the FIS Council held their first fully-fledged meeting since having been elected at the 57th FIS Congress in Belgrade, in June, and voted on Oberstdorf (GER) as hosts of the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships 2031.

The decision, which was postponed after having been originally scheduled to take place in Belgrade on the eve of the Congress, came with 16 votes in favor of the German candidature against six for Planica (SLO).

The Council was happy to be able to discuss frankly and openly today before making such an important decision. I wish to congratulate Oberstdorf for what was a remarkable candidature from one of the landmark locations for Nordic skiing in the world. – Alexander Ospelt, FIS President

The FIS Council also approved the hosts for two future editions of the FIS Alpine Junior World Ski Championships, with Lake Placid (USA) set to host the event in 2027 and Verbier (SUI) in 2028.

Key appointments made

Besides having openly discussed aspects related to the present and future of the organization, the Council also made several appointments to positions across the FIS ecosystem, chief of which were the four FIS Vice-Presidents (in alphabetical order):

Deidra Dionne (CAN)
Victoria Gosling (GBR)
Dexter Paine (USA)
Martti Uusitalo (FIN)

Also, Jean-Philippe Rochat (SUI) was appointed as the Treasurer.

The Council ratified the chairpersons of several Expert Committees and Technical Committees, as per proposals submitted by the National Ski Associations. The updated list of committee chairpersons will be available on FIS.com over the course of the next few days.

On the administration side, Secretary General ad interim Urs Lehmann announced the appointment of Janne Leskinen as FIS Alpine Director, with a latest starting date of 1 November 2026.

The newly created role is tasked with managing the entire breadth of work underpinning Alpine Skiing, from the grassroots level to the elite, through to topics like safety, format changes, and the further development of the Continental Cup.

A former elite skier himself ─ with a fourth-place finish in Super-G at the FIS Alpine World Ski Championships 1996 ─ Leskinen has always remained closely involved in snow sports administration, joining FIS after a long and successful tenure as CEO of Ski Sport Finland, besides having served as a member of numerous FIS committees over the course of the years. Including being the current chair of the FIS Alpine World Cup Sub-Committee.

This is not only about the obvious wealth of experience that Janne brings, but also the fact that he does so with an inestimable combination of internal and external: he’s been a direct part of the FIS world for a long time while also operating at the highest level within a National Ski Association. – Urs Lehmann, FIS Secretary General a.i.

The next FIS Council meeting is scheduled for 1 and 2 September at the FIS headquarters in Oberhofen am Thunersee (SUI).