The Swedish Ski Federation will push Sweden's government to keep Russian and Belarusian athletes out of the country, aiming to prevent them from competing at the Nordic World Championships in Falun in February and March 2027, according to SVT Sport. The federation's secretary general, Pernilla Bonde, told SVT Sport that the body will work through the Swedish Sports Confederation (Riksidrottsförbundet) to influence the government, with the stated goal of stopping the athletes from entering Sweden and therefore from taking part in the championships.
The move follows a decision by the International Ski and Snowboard Federation (FIS) to ease its rules and clear as many as 250 Russian athletes and officials to compete in international events this coming season, Yle reports. The clearance covers athletes and officials across all disciplines governed by FIS, including alpine and Nordic skiing.
Why it matters
The dispute sets a national federation against the sport's international governing body over who is allowed to compete at a world championship hosted on Swedish snow. FIS has opened the door; Sweden's federation says it does not want that door opened on its own soil, and it is now turning to government immigration powers rather than sporting rules to close it.
The numbers involved are small but symbolically charged. According to Yle, 42 Russian and Belarusian athletes, along with a number of officials, have been given the go-ahead by FIS to compete in Falun. That group comprises 15 cross-country skiers, 17 ski jumpers and ten Nordic combined athletes.
A decision the federation will follow but does not endorse
Bonde made clear that the Swedish body sees no room to override FIS on sporting grounds. "Because it is decided, we must abide by it, but it is not a decision we think is good," she said, according to SVT Sport.
That framing explains the strategy. Rather than challenging the FIS ruling directly, the federation is pursuing a route through the Swedish Sports Confederation to the government, where the question becomes one of entry to the country rather than eligibility to compete. Yle reports that the stated aim is to prevent the Russian and Belarusian athletes from coming into Sweden, which would in practice keep them out of the Falun championships.
The approach leaves the outcome dependent on a political decision rather than a sporting one, and it places the Swedish federation in the position of accepting FIS's rules in principle while working to ensure they have no effect at the event it is hosting.
Russian athletes respond
SVT Sport contacted two Russian cross-country skiers and a coach. According to the broadcaster, their response was that the Swedish stance is unfortunate but that they will have to adapt.
Cross-country skier Savelij Korosteljov, who finished fourth in the 20-kilometer race and fifth in the 50-kilometer race at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan and Cortina d'Ampezzo, told SVT that it is a pity when sport and politics are mixed together.
Fellow cross-country skier Darja Neprjajeva said she was at a loss for words. "It is very unfortunate. I don't even know what to say. You can't train in peace," she said, according to SVT Sport.
The remarks suggest the athletes see the Swedish push as an external disruption to their preparations rather than a verdict on their eligibility, which FIS has already granted.
Neutral status and the practical hurdles
Even with FIS clearance, Russian and Belarusian athletes face a separate set of conditions before they can appear at a championship. A coach identified in the SVT Sport reporting as Sorin described the layered requirements: specific measures that athletes and team staff must take to obtain neutral status, followed by further steps including securing visas and arranging travel logistics.
"If new circumstances arise, we adapt to them," Sorin said, according to SVT Sport.
That comment points to the uncertainty hanging over the Falun championships. Neutral status is a sporting and administrative process; a visa is a matter for Swedish authorities. The Swedish federation's campaign is aimed squarely at the second of those, which is why the government's posture will matter more than any further FIS statement.
For now, the situation is one of competing decisions rather than a resolved outcome. FIS has cleared a defined group of athletes and officials to compete internationally this season, including at Falun. The Swedish Ski Federation has said it will comply with that ruling in principle while working, through the Swedish Sports Confederation, to persuade the government to refuse entry. The Russian athletes contacted by SVT Sport have said they intend to adapt to whatever develops.
What to watch is whether the Swedish government signals a position on entry before the championships, and whether the Swedish Sports Confederation takes up the federation's request. Either development would determine whether the 42 athletes cleared by FIS actually appear in Falun when the championships begin in late February 2027.
