The biggest profile of the national cross-country team chose to decline a place on Sunday, citing the financial situation that the Ski Association now finds itself in. This could make it even more difficult for the association to get the economy going. – This will reduce the market value of sponsorship agreements that the Ski Association can enter into. Klæbo is the golden calf, just as Northug was a few years ago. Sponsors go after those who get the most attention. These are the ones they primarily want to connect with and bask in the glory of, says Harry Arne Solberg. Solberg is professor of sports economics at NTNU. He believes that Klæbo’s no will have a significantly negative effect on the Ski Association. Uncertain income in a tough market Earlier in April, it was also reported that Kristine Stavås Skistad and Astrid Øyre Slind wished to continue outside the national team next season as well. Cross-country skiing mainly lives on sponsorship income, and cross-country manager Espen Bjervig says that they have noticed that the situation has become more difficult financially. – With increased expenses and a slight drop in sponsorship income, the gap will be large. But this is not a unique situation. We are in this situation every year. What is unique this year is the market we are in. In a normal market, Norwegian cross-country skiing would have managed to secure new cooperation agreements well into the spring, summer and autumn. We don’t dare to take that risk now. We dare not budget with so many uncertain incomes when we see how the business world is also struggling in today’s market, says Bjervig. CROSS-COUNTRY RUNNING MANAGER: Espen Bjervig. Photo: NTB The main sponsor: – Unlucky Sparebank 1 is the main sponsor of the national cross-country team. – We think it is unfortunate. We don’t hide that. It was not a desirable situation for us. But of course, when Johannes has chosen to do it, we just have to respect it. That’s how it is, says sponsor manager at Sparebank 1, Stein Bugge. Petter Northug chose in 2013 to do the same as Klæbo is doing now, two years before Sparebank 1 came in as main sponsor. Bugge believes it is too early to say anything about how Klæbo’s no will affect the agreement between them and the national cross-country team. – Now it must be said that when Johannes starts competing, he will still go with Sparebank 1 in mind. But of course, he will not be available in the period from now until the start of the season at Beitostølen. So then we have no chance to use him, says the sponsor manager. Bugge underlines that Sparebank 1 has an agreement with the Skiing Association up to and including the WC in Trondheim in 2025, and that they stand by that agreement. Another person who reacts to Klæbo’s decision is Espen Sørhaug. He is marketing manager at Norengros, which until recently was one of the Ski Association’s biggest sponsors. – It is a big challenge for the entire national team model and structure in Norwegian cross-country skiing, which is actually just as much about being able to build age-specific classes and upwards. That is precisely what the Ski Association is responsible for. The Northug conflict was resolved halfway, and it was not good, he says. Norengros ends its collaboration with the national cross-country team this spring. When asked if they would withdraw if this had happened while they still had a contract with the union, Sørhaug is clear: – We would not do that. Individual athletes have little say in a sponsorship context. It is the noise around them that is demanding. We sponsor the national cross-country team. We don’t get involved in sports. The important thing is that they wear our logo when they go skiing in the winter, he says. Professor Solberg is quite clear that Klæbo’s no makes it less attractive to sponsor the national team and that future sponsors will pay less in the years to come. – They want those who get the most attention. Right now, Klæbo is at the top of that list. – If you want to win TV viewers, who are the oil in the money machine, you have to have the stars. Fears cuts Due to the Ski Association’s financial situation, the number of runners on the national team has been cut from 24 to ten runners per gender. The World Cup winner in the five-mile, Pål Golberg, fears that a lack of access to the biggest stars could lead to further cuts in the future. – I can answer that honestly. I would like it to be the most attractive model that everyone wanted to go on. Regardless of whether Johannes wants to go to the top or not, I would like him to be an equally big part of the team, says Golberg to news. FEAR CUT: Pål Golberg. Photo: NTB For Golberg, it has never been an option to bet without the rest of the team in the national team. For him, the national team model works well, and the 32-year-old has taken the chance every time he has been given the chance. He would have liked to see Klæbo do the same. – We have sponsors who pay for our scheme. Especially for the business that takes place from November to March, which is the one that costs the most money. Then he will hopefully have our sponsors on the suit anyway. But I would have liked to see that he was also with us now in the summer months. In the private team Team Aker Dæhlie, too, they notice that the sponsorship market is demanding, according to daily manager Knut Nystad. – Economic cycles mean that the money is not as loose as before. It is difficult. It is difficult for us. It is certainly difficult for others, he says and continues: – We hope in the long run that it will turn around, but then we must also have a product that partners are interested in and that appeals to them. We hope to take part in challenging what the cross-country world will look like in the future and make a positive contribution.
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