Final Word from Tuesday, July 24, 2007
Under normal circumstances, hosting the 2009 Nordic World Ski Championships in Liberec would be great preparation for a bid for the much-bigger 2016 or 2020 Summer Olympics in Prague. Instead, the ski event threatens to turn the public against other megasports events. Euro magazine said there is an almost mafia-like battle for ski-related contracts. The head of the event's organizing committee, Roman Kumpošt, is being forced out for no apparent reason other than that the manager of skier Kateřina Neumannová, Josef Jindra, wants her in the top position so that he has his finger on the deals. Týden magazine said Kumpošt's removal is being arranged with the help of Deputy Education Minister Jaromír Soukup. When Soukup was appointed to the education post, there was speculation about what could possibly draw him to the public sector from his extremely lucrative media-buying agency, Médea. The pieces of the puzzle are starting to come together.[Czech Republic skiing games]