The International Ski Federation (FIS), the International Luge Federation (FIL), and the German Ice Hockey Federation (DEB), have all brought on board footwear and apparel firm Skechers as a commercial partner.
The tie-ups - struck separately but unveiled simultaneously today (November 7) by those bodies’ exclusive marketing partner, the Infront agency - cover 23 Nordic skiing and 11 Alpine skiing races across the 2023-24 seasons, as well as the 2023-24 Luge World Cup, and the Deutschland Cup organized by the DEB.
Skechers’ logo will have “prominent visibility” at the aforementioned Alpine and Nordic skiing events, through course advertising as well as placement on both the start and finish gates.
It will also be present at nine Luge World Cup events, as well as at the 2024 FIL Luge World Championships in Altenberg, Germany.
For that tie-up, rights include the placement of the Skechers logo in the start area, alongside the track, on the physical backdrop to the start, and on bib numbers for the women’s individual and spring events.
Einars Fogelis, president of the FIL, has said: "This collaboration will take international luge to a new level. We are looking forward to helping Skechers use luge to push its key brand message to our growing audience."
The Deutschland Cup, meanwhile, runs between November 8 (tomorrow) and 12, in Landshut.
Christoph Wilkens, Skechers’ managing director for Germany, commented on the four tie-ups: “Luge, ice hockey, Alpine and Nordic Skiing are exciting sports known for their speed, thrills and high performance. We are proud to support the FIL, FIS, and DEB teams and athletes on their journey. These partnerships reflect our passion for winter sports and will allow us to work even closer with the community, using the platform to showcase the high quality of our shoes.”
In July, Infront and the FIS agreed terms to centralize the international distribution of FIS World Cup broadcast rights in an eight-season deal, ending a long-running dispute that threatened to spill into the Swiss courts.
The exclusive agency agreement between the pair covers the international distribution of multi-platform World Cup rights from 2026-27 to 2033-34 which will generate more than €100 million ($111 million) above the figure raised under current rights sales.
The deal ended a lengthy period of disagreement between the skiing federation and Infront over the ownership of FIS World Cup media rights.
