Council meeting in Geneva shelves the 2028 idea
There will be no extra World Championships in 2028. The International Ski and Snowboard Federation (FIS) confirmed after a Council meeting in Geneva that the 2027/28 calendar will not include an additional major event, Swiss news agency Keystone-SDA reported on Friday morning.
The decision follows a feasibility study commissioned by FIS itself. According to the federation, the study concluded that the late timing for marketing would pose risks to the quality of delivery and limit the event's economic potential. Put simply, with only around 16 months to go, there was not enough runway to line up a host, broadcasters and commercial partners for a brand-new championship.
The proposed event would have covered several disciplines at once: alpine skiing, Nordic skiing, snowboard and freestyle. It would have marked the first time a World Championships of this kind was staged in an even-numbered year.
The long-term plan is still on the table
Friday's announcement is a postponement rather than a U-turn. FIS reiterated that it remains committed in principle to establishing a major international event in even-numbered years without Winter Olympics, starting in 2032. In the federation's view, that gap in the global sports calendar offers extra reach and additional commercial value.
At present, the alpine and Nordic World Championships are held every two years, in odd-numbered years. If the concept goes ahead, every winter without an Olympic Games would feature a title event of its own — in effect, a World Championships almost every season.
Strong pushback from Austria and Switzerland
That prospect has drawn heavy criticism in recent weeks. The Austrian Ski Federation (ÖSV) came out firmly against the plan, with its presidents' conference voting unanimously against it in late August. ÖSV sports director Mario Stecher warned, as quoted by Austrian broadcaster ORF, that the special character of a World Championships would be lost. The federation's concerns include a devalued World Cup, inflation of world titles and an even more congested calendar for athletes.
Scepticism has also come from Switzerland. According to Swiss media, Marco Odermatt, the dominant figure in men's alpine racing, thinks little of the idea of near-annual World Championships. For the World Cup's leading names, who already race from late October to March, another peak in the season would mean an extra layer of strain.
Alpine SkiingFIS turmoil deepens as Trinkl turns down Waldner's race director jobFIS, by contrast, has framed the project primarily around audience growth and new revenue — arguments it is clearly not ready to abandon.
Next stop: Crans-Montana and Falun
For the athletes, nothing changes in the short term. The next championship peak remains 2027: the alpine skiers will race for medals in Crans-Montana, Switzerland, while the Nordic World Championships head to Falun, Sweden. Snowboard and freestyle athletes will contest their 2027 world titles in Austria, split between Vorarlberg (Montafon) and Tyrol (Kühtai).
Before then, the new alpine World Cup season opens on 24 and 25 October with the traditional giant slaloms on the Rettenbach glacier in Sölden. FIS says it will work out the details of its post-2032 concept — format, bidding process and venues — in further steps.
