Explaining the World Sailing situation

by Mikkel Thommessen, Seilmagasinet.no
As the world governing body for the sport of sailing, World Sailing financial difficulties are peaking after the postponement of the Tokyo Olympics in which the organization derives significant income.

However, the current situation must also be attributed to past dispositions, and in particular, the move of their headquarters from Southampton to London and the loss of budgeted sponsorship revenue have depleted the federation’s resources.

In this interview with World Sailing President Kim Andersen, which is in English for the sake of our many foreign readers who have been following Sail magazine’s coverage of World Sailing, we will hear about what steps are being taken to bring the association on foot.

In particular, three issues are affected: renegotiation of the lease in London, reduction in wage costs, and the possibility of a partial payment of the income from the IOC which, after the Olympic postponement, is only due in September 2021.

The latter is critical to World Sailing’s survivability and Kim Andersen suggests that in the worst case scenario, it will be necessary to borrow money with security in future income from the International Olympic Committee.

In this interview with Seilmagasinet, the president of World Sailing talks about how to tackle the financial crisis.