Italian skier Matteo Franzoso died just days before his 26th birthday after he sustained a serious head injury in a crash during training in Chile over the weekend, officials confirmed this week. 

The Italian Winter Sports Federation (FISI) released a statement confirming the death of 25-year-old Franzoso, who was fatally injured Saturday when he crashed during a training session in La Parva, approximately 30 miles outside Santiago, Chile. 

According to officials, Franzoso crashed into a fence while attempting a small jump. He was “immediately” reached by an air ambulance and taken to an intensive care unit, where he was put into a medically induced coma. 

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FISI said Monday that he died as a result of the head injury and a resulting cerebral edema. His 26th birthday was Tuesday. 

“This is a tragedy for the family and for our sport,” FISI president Flavio Roda said in a statement. “It’s a tragedy that brings us back to the state of mind we had just under a year ago, when Matilde Lorenzi passed away.” 

Matteo Franzoso of Italy reacts after crashing in the men’s downhill of the FIS Alpine Skiing World Cup in Lake Louise, Alberta, Canada, on Nov. 26, 2022. (Sergei Belski/USA TODAY Sports)

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Italian skier Matilde Lorenzi died less than a year ago in October 2024 after a fall during a training session. She was 19. 

“It’s absolutely essential to do everything possible to ensure that such incidents never happen again,” Roda’s statement continued. “In this sad and painful moment, I want to tell all athletes and coaches, in every sport, that the Federation is by their side and that they will find all the support they need. I ask for the utmost respect for Matteo’s family, to whom we will remain close in every way necessary.”

Italy’s Matteo Franzoso competes during a men’s World Cup super-G skiing race, Dec. 4, 2022, in Beaver Creek, Colorado. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty, file)

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Franzoso won a super-G race on the second-tier Europa Cup circuit in 2021, having finished fourth in the downhill at the World Junior Championships in 2020. He competed in 17 World Cup races — 11 super-Gs and six downhills. His best World Cup result was 28th in a super-G in Cortina d’Ampezzo in January 2023.

Franzoso was training with Italian team standouts Dominik Paris, Christof Innerhofer, Mattia Casse and others ahead of the Milan-Cortina Olympics in February. 

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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NEW YORK — National Women’s Soccer League commissioner Jessica Berman said she plans to continue in her role, but she did not offer a tangible update on the potential renewal of her contract, which ends in the coming months.

“What I can say is that I intend to be here,” Berman told reporters from the league’s headquarters on Thursday. “I joined this league because I believe in the future of women’s sports and professional women’s soccer, and that’s all I can say.”

Berman signed a four-year contract to become commissioner of the league in early 2022.

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She addressed reporters on Thursday following two days of in-person meetings in New York among the league’s board of governors. Among the board’s most important topics in recent months has been Berman’s future and the potential renewal of her contract.

The NWSL board meetings in New York happened in the weeks after the league lost one of its most high-profile players, 20-year-old United States forward Alyssa Thompson, to Chelsea in a transfer on England’s deadline day. The move sparked further debate across the league about the NWSL’s ability to compete in a global market while maintaining a salary cap, which is currently set at $3.5 million per team.

“While I could understand the focus on the salary cap, the way that players make decisions about where to play is a complex set of considerations, and we will always look at that not in a myopic way, but holistically,” Berman said.

“We are quite confident that the value proposition that we offer to players is compelling and we’ll continue to attract and retain the best players.”

Player safety was a major topic of concern once again in Berman’s press briefing following several high-profile incidents at games this season.

The NWSL had its second major medical emergency of the season occur on Sunday when Racing Louisville FC midfielder Savannah DeMelo collapsed on the field at the halftime whistle in a game against Seattle Reign FC.

The match was suspended and completed two days later — in stark contrast to May, when Angel City FC defender Savy King was treated on the field for over 10 minutes for what turned out to be a heart abnormality. That game resumed after King was taken to the hospital in an ambulance and players were visibly upset.

Berman said on Thursday that the decision to suspend Sunday’s game was ultimately hers, and any similar situation is ultimately her call, but there are others in a “decision tree” empowered to make the call in her absence.

“Just to state the obvious, the decision to not continue the game was a no-brainer and did not require contemplation,” Berman said. “We at least now know how to manage those situations and are confident that hopefully we will never have to do them again.”

On Thursday, Berman also announced that the process to expand beyond 16 teams is now open, but she defined it as a “rolling process” rather than a bid with deadlines, as was the case in recent years.

“We’ve made the decision to shift to a rolling process mostly because we’ve been through this, two rounds, and so, we pretty much know the universe of who’s interested. There’s more than a dozen of them.

“Those conversations are ongoing. Each of them has a different perspective on how much time they need to launch, the investments they need to make to be successful, including potentially around infrastructure, and we want to not force a square peg into a round hole.”

The NWSL will expand to 16 teams next year with the introduction of Boston Legacy FC and Denver Summit FC. Berman has said several times that there is “no reason” the NWSL cannot be as big as the 32-team NFL, although on Thursday she appeared to walk back the number of teams as more of an idea than a target or hard cap.

Berman also confirmed that the second division that the NWSL plans to operate will not launch next year, which the league initially indicated as a timeline. The league is now focused on launching a second division in 2027, she said.

Barcelona‘s Alexia Putellas has turned down a big-money offer to join Paris Saint-Germain ahead of the closing of the transfer window this week, sources have told ESPN.

The French club approached the Spain midfielder and were prepared to hand her a multi-year contract in addition to a significant pay rise as they attempt to end OL Lyonnes‘ dominance in the Première Ligue.

A source told ESPN that Barça made it clear they were not open to offers for Putellas, but PSG were willing to execute her €1 million ($1.2m) release clause, which would have left the Catalan side powerless.

However, Putellas, a two-time Ballon d’Or winner, has pledged her commitment to Barça, where she has made over 450 appearances since re-joining from Levante in 2012.

The 31-year-old’s contract with Barça expires next summer, although there is an option for it to be extended until 2027.

With the season already underway, Putellas’s exit would have been a hammer blow to a Barça squad which has already been hugely reduced in size this summer, with just 18 players registered with the first team.

Fridolina Rolfö, Ingrid Engen, Jana Fernández, Ellie Roebuck, Bruna Vilamala, Martina Fernández and Lucía Corrales are among those who have departed, while only Laia Aleixandri has arrived.

The decision to let so many players leave is part of wider cost-cutting measures across the club’s various sporting teams, as well as a desire to use the budget available to renew the contracts of players whose contracts are expiring.

As well as Putellas, Marta Torrejón, Mapi León, Salma Paralluelo, Clàudia Pina, Caroline Graham Hansen, Cata Coll and Ona Batlle‘s terms are all up in 2026.