Gian Franco-Kasper will continue as FIS President for longer than anticipated after the governing body postponed its Ski Congress ©Getty Images

Gian-Franco Kasper will continue as International Ski Federation (FIS) President for longer than anticipated after the governing body postponed its Ski Congress due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

The Congress was due to take place at Royal Cliff in Thailand from May 17 to 23 and Kasper, 75, had planned to stand down as President at this event, after 22 years at the helm.

A new date and location for the Congress has yet to be announced, however the FIS say they are hopeful of holding it in the autumn of 2020.

Kasper, who is an honorary member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and a former member of its Executive Board, has been involved with the FIS for more than 40 years after the Swiss official became the organisation's secretary-general in 1975.

Kasper announced his intention to stand down at the governing body's Congress in November 2019, but this has now been delayed for an indefinite period.

The new deadline for applications for Presidential and Council candidates will be 30 days before the re-scheduled elections.

So far the only candidate announced is Johan Eliasch, the chairman and chief executive of sportswear company Head.

Eliasch has been nominated for Presidency by GB Snowsport.

Gian Franco-Kasper had planned to stand down as FIS President after 22 years at the Congress in May, but this has now been postponed ©Getty Images
Gian Franco-Kasper had planned to stand down as FIS President after 22 years at the Congress in May, but this has now been postponed ©Getty Images

As well as the postponement of the FIS President and Council elections, the governing body announced the following postponements today.

The FIS Congress General Assembly has been postponed as has the election of the organisers of the FIS World Championships in 2024 and 2025.

All FIS committee meetings before any new date for the Congress have been postponed, with any urgent matters to be discussed through online meetings.

The election of organisers for the 2024 FIS Ski Flying World Championships has also been postponed.

For the 2025 FIS World Championship elections, the candidates for the Alpine discipline are Saalbach in Austria, Garmisch-Partenkirchen in Germany and Crans-Montana in Switzerland.

Trondheim in Norway is the sole candidate for Nordic disciplines and for Freestyle Ski, Snowboard and Freeski, the council had already postponed the election until after the Court of Arbitration for Sport has ruled on the eligibility of Russia to bid for major events.

This is because Krasnoyarsk in Russia is a candidate for this discipline.