Financial problems: World Championship organisers in Sweden and Paraguay under pressure

The World Rally Championship is facing trouble at two key venues. Both the Rally Sweden and the Rally Paraguay are facing significant financial challenges. For now, both organisers are sticking to their plans for 2027. But behind the scenes, the pressure is mounting.

The Rally Sweden has been a fixture in the series since the World Rally Championship began in 1973. Yet this traditional event, of all things, is in the throes of a deep financial crisis. Rally Sweden AB, which organises the World Championship round around Umeå, has reported a deficit of around 16 million Swedish kronor. That equates to approximately 1.4 million euros.

Rallye Schweden-Organisationsleiterin Anna Nordqvist

Foto: Rallye Schweden

Particularly worrying: the city of Umeå supports the event with 14.5 million kronor annually. According to media reports, funds earmarked for as far ahead as 2027 are said to have already been used to cover older liabilities. However, managing director and FIA official Anna Nordkvist refutes the claim that all funds have been exhausted. She also denies that insolvency is imminent.

The event organisers cite the move from Värmland to Umeå in 2022 as a major cost driver. Setting up the new venue is said to have required substantial investment and incurred additional costs.

Meanwhile, the dispute has also escalated within the Swedish Motor Sport Federation (SBF). Six of the twelve regional associations have lost confidence in the federation’s leadership and are calling for an extraordinary general meeting. Their aim: new leadership and a fundamental reorganisation of the rally’s management.

Mit großem Sprung: Thierry Neuville bei der Rallye Schweden 2026

Foto: Red Bul

The critics want the federation to cease acting as the organiser itself and to stop regularly covering financial losses. Instead, they want an independent operator to take over the rally. An attempt to sell the event to a consortium of investors from Umeå failed in September.

Regardless of this, Managing Director Nordkvist, who is facing increasing criticism, still intends to go ahead with the event. Rally Sweden is set to take place from 18 to 21 February 2027 as planned.

Paraguay: Main sponsor pulls out

The situation in South America is even more dramatic. There, the financing of the Rally Paraguay is being thrown into doubt following the collapse of its main financial backer.

On 3 November, Ueno Bank was placed under supervision by the Paraguayan central bank and entered into a winding-up process. This followed massive solvency problems and irregularities in lending. At times, around three million customers were unable to access their accounts.

Toyota-Youngster Sami Pajari auf Siegerfahrt bei der Rallye Paraguay 2026

Foto: Red Bull

The banking crisis triggered a political upheaval that ultimately cost President Santiago Peña his office. For rallying, the collapse is particularly damaging: Ueno Bank had been the most important commercial partner since Paraguay’s entry into the World Rally Championship in 2025. According to Paraguayan media, around 3.9 million US dollars were paid per event. A contract is still in place for 2027 – though that will be the last time.

Camilo Pérez, President of the Paraguayan Olympic Committee and a member of the Rally Paraguay organising committee, made no secret of his concern as early as the beginning of November. Speaking to the newspaper ABC Color, he explained that new sponsors would now have to be found.

This leaves the organisers facing a difficult task. It is not just a matter of finding a replacement for the previous title sponsor. The question of which contractually agreed payments from Ueno Bank can actually still be made also remains unresolved.

Joshua McErlean im M-Sport Ford Puma bei der Rallye Paraguay 2026

Foto: Red Bull

In Sweden, the future of a long-established World Championship round is at stake; in Paraguay, it is the financial security of a relatively new venue. Both organisations are under considerable pressure.

The dates are set in the 2027 WRC calendar: Sweden from 18 to 21 February, Paraguay from 21 to 24 October. Whether these dates will be backed by a financially viable event in the long term, however, is quite another matter.