Amnesty furious over Tour de Ski sponsor: “FIS lets itself be used”

Originally published in NRK on January 04, 2026

On the third stage of the Tour de Ski, on New Year’s Eve, all athletes on both the men’s and women’s start lists wore bibs with “Azerbaijan” printed prominently at the top. The country’s branding was also visible on the home straight and in the finish area.

Frank Conde Tangberg, political adviser at Amnesty International Norway, told NRK this is “the textbook example of sportswashing” and that the International Ski Federation (FIS) is allowing itself to be used for political purposes. Amnesty highlights long‑standing human rights concerns in Azerbaijan, including reports of imprisoned journalists and restrictions on independent organisations and media.

FIS signed a five‑year commercial partnership last May with Azerbaijan’s state tourism bureau covering world championships across all disciplines. In a written response to NRK, FIS called the global destination partnership an important strategic step to grow FIS disciplines in new regions and to help develop winter‑sport infrastructure there.

Several Norwegian team skiers expressed surprise and unease about the sponsor. Harald Østberg Amundsen said he was “a bit surprised” and that it felt unusual for a country to step into cross‑country skiing sponsorship. Erik Valnes also said he found it “special” and that he and others had noticed the new sponsor.

One athlete taped over the sponsor name: Armenia’s Mikayel Mikayelyan covered the Azerbaijan name on his bib and was fined by FIS for breaching the rules, FIS told TV 2. Mikayelyan told TV 2: “They can put it anywhere, but not on me.”

Norway’s ski federation had already expressed displeasure: in a May press release the federation’s president Tove Moe Dyrhaug said the FIS‑Azerbaijan deal did not align with the values they work for and called for more transparency and better governance in international sport. The federation said it had not been informed about the agreement in advance and planned meetings with the other Nordic nations to follow up.

The Tour de Ski concludes this weekend on the Alpe Cermis slope in Val di Fiemme. The men’s final is at 11:30 and the women race at 15:30 (local time).