This summer, the skiing team signed a collaboration with Svenska Spel. An agreement that was signed over seven years and was worth just over SEK 80 million.

On Monday, the national team's biggest medalist Charlotte Kalla told Dagens Nyheter that the company must not use her as a front figure as she does not want to be sponsored by gaming companies.

"I don't feel ready to stand out and be a person to launch something if there will be campaigns," she said.

Now the union gives its view of Charlotte Kalla's attitude to their newly initiated collaboration with the gaming giant.

- We know to a large extent what our riders think and think. This agreement gives a lot to Swedish skiing. It is a very big agreement. We see no problems with it, only opportunities actually. We cannot sell individual riders, they are private individuals. We sell the national team and association with the national team regardless of who is in the national team really. Some years someone is in the national team and next year someone else, so we can not guarantee that you will actually get access to some riders, says Ola Strömberg, tf length manager of the Swedish Ski Association to SVT Sport.

Do you think it is problematic that the national team's biggest star does not want to be fronted with your new sponsor?

- No not really. She agrees that we have the kind of sponsors we have and are aware that they are needed to run the business. She is loyal to it, but then it is always up to an individual to decide if they feel comfortable with the sponsors we have in person and to be front figures like that.

You have no problem with her being so clear about it?

- No, I actually haven't. She has been pretty clear before too how she looks at it. We have obviously been aware of this for quite some time.

Were they (the sponsor) also aware of Charlotte Kalla's opinion before entering into the collaboration?

- I think everyone who reads magazines knows how she looks at that issue. Then we are all aware that she is loyal to the sponsors we have. It is no surprise that she has her opinions, it is not.

Charlotte Kalla's negative attitude to gaming companies has grown over the years, while working with psychologist Thomas Nilsson, who works with gaming addiction herself.

However, it is not only Kalla who has refused to enter into partnerships with gaming companies. In the biathlon team, Hanna Öberg has chosen the same route. However, Ola Strömberg says that there is currently no other than Kalla in the cross country team who does not want to be fronted with the gaming company.

- No, not that I'm aware of, he says.

Archive: Charlotte Kalla on the messy situation around the national team organization (September 10)

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