Skiing body FIS signs Azerbaijan to five-year sponsor deal for world championships

Sport

Skiing body FIS signs Azerbaijan to five-year sponsor deal for world championships

2025-05-06 19:54 Last Updated At：20:00

GENEVA (AP) — Skiing’s governing body signed the oil- and gas-rich state of Azerbaijan on Tuesday as its first global sponsor of world championships which face challenges from changing climate.

The International Ski and Snowboard Federation said the five-year deal with Azerbaijan’s tourism agency through the 2030 season also includes the World Cup in some disciplines, including aerials, ski cross and snowboard cross.

“Above and beyond marketing rights, the core element of the strategic partnership is to promote and develop Azerbaijan’s status as a world-class winter sports destination,” FIS said in a statement.

The value of the sponsorship was not detailed.

Azerbaijan has previously used its fossil fuels revenue to invest in soccer sponsorship with UEFA and Spanish club Atletico Madrid, and hosting Formula 1 races.

The state led since 2003 by President Ilham Aliyev hosted the inaugural European Games in Baku in 2015 and twice bid for the Summer Games, of 2016 and 2020. Baku was not accepted as an official candidate by the International Olympic Committee.

FIS president Johan Eliasch is a long-time advocate for the environment, including in his campaign for the IOC presidential election in March that highlighted climate change.

“The urgency and scale of this challenge is increasingly real to people across the world, and they are desperately seeking practical and trustworthy leadership,” Eliasch wrote in his manifesto that claimed “80% of people around the world want more climate action.”

FIS acknowledged in November “winter sports and tourism face a bleak future because of climate change” when the Switzerland-based governing body announced a working partnership with the United Nations weather agency in Geneva.

Azerbaijan “is home to several ski resorts,” FIS said on Tuesday, and cited the Shahdag venue as a “paradise for skiers and snowboarders, at more than 2,300 meters above sea level.”

“We are inviting the world to take another look and discover our country as a wonderful place of stunning mountain ranges and snow,” the chairman of the State Tourism Agency of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Fuad Naghiyev, said in the FIS statement.

Eliasch added the Azerbaijan partnership "ticks all the boxes. It brings value to the entire range of our disciplines, to further the development of snow sports across all levels — from recreational to elite — and takes us into a new exciting growth market.”

Azerbaijan has competed at each Winter Games since 1998 though has never won a medal.

It sent two athletes to the 2022 Beijing Olympics, both in figure skating, and none in the six snow sports organized by FIS.

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Thousands of nurses go on strike at several major New York City hospitals

NEW YORK (AP) — Thousands of nurses in three hospital systems in New York City went on strike Monday after negotiations through the weekend failed to yield breakthroughs in their contract disputes.

The strike was taking place at The Mount Sinai Hospital and two of its satellite campuses, with picket lines forming. The other affected hospitals are NewYork-Presbyterian and Montefiore Medical Center in the Bronx.

About 15,000 nurses are involved in the strike, according to New York State Nurses Association.

“After months of bargaining, management refused to make meaningful progress on core issues that nurses have been fighting for: safe staffing for patients, healthcare benefits for nurses, and workplace violence protections,” the union said in a statement issued Monday. “Management at the richest hospitals in New York City are threatening to discontinue or radically cut nurses’ health benefits.”

The strike, which comes during a severe flu season, could potentially force the hospitals to transfer patients, cancel procedures or divert ambulances. It could also put a strain on city hospitals not involved in the contract dispute, as patients avoid the medical centers hit by the strike.

The hospitals involved have been hiring temporary nurses to try and fill the labor gap during the walkout, and said in a statement during negotiations that they would “do whatever is necessary to minimize disruptions.” Montefiore posted a message assuring patients that appointments would be kept.

“NYSNA’s leaders continue to double down on their $3.6 billion in reckless demands, including nearly 40% wage increases, and their troubling proposals like demanding that a nurse not be terminated if found to be compromised by drugs or alcohol while on the job," Montefiore spokesperson Joe Solmonese said Monday after the strike had started. "We remain resolute in our commitment to providing safe and seamless care, regardless of how long the strike may last.”

New York-Presbyterian accused the union of staging a strike to “create disruption,” but said in a statement that it has taken steps to ensure patients receive the care they need.

"We’re ready to keep negotiating a fair and reasonable contract that reflects our respect for our nurses and the critical role they play, and also recognizes the challenging realities of today’s healthcare environment,” the statement said.

The work stoppage is occurring at multiple hospitals simultaneously, but each medical center is negotiating with the union independently. Several other hospitals across the city and in its suburbs reached deals in recent days to avert a possible strike.

The nurses’ demands vary by hospital, but the major issues include staffing levels and workplace safety. The union says hospitals have given nurses unmanageable workloads.

Nurses also want better security measures in the workplace, citing incidents like a an incident last week, when a man with a sharp object barricaded himself in a Brooklyn hospital room and was then killed by police.

The union also wants limitations on hospitals’ use of artificial intelligence.

The nonprofit hospitals involved in the negotiations say they’ve been working to improve staffing levels, but say the union’s demands overall are too costly.

Nurses voted to authorize the strike last month.

Both New York Gov. Kathy Hochul and Mayor Zohran Mamdani had expressed concern about the possibility of the strike. As the strike deadline neared, Mamdani urged both sides to keep negotiating and reach a deal that “both honors our nurses and keeps our hospitals open.”

“Our nurses kept this city alive through its hardest moments. Their value is not negotiable,” Mamdani said.

State Attorney General Letitia James voiced similar support, saying "nurses put their lives on the line every day to keep New Yorkers healthy. They should never be forced to choose between their own safety, their patients’ well-being, and a fair contract.”

The last major nursing strike in the city was only three years ago, in 2023. That work stoppage, at Mount Sinai and Montefiore, was short, lasting three days. It resulted in a deal raising pay 19% over three years at those hospitals.

It also led to promised staffing improvements, though the union and hospitals now disagree about how much progress has been made, or whether the hospitals are retreating from staffing guarantees.