The International University Sports Federation (FISU; ) is responsible for the organization and governance of worldwide

sports competition Competition is a rivalry where two or more parties strive for a common goal which cannot be shared: where one's gain is the other's loss (an example of which is a zero-sum game). Competition can arise between entities such as organisms, individ ...

s for

student-athlete Student athlete (or student–athlete) is a term used principally in universities in the United States and Canada to describe students enrolled at postsecondary educational institutions, principally colleges and universities, but also at sec ...

s between the ages of 17 and 25. It was founded in 1949 as the world governing body of national university sports organizations and currently has 165 member associations (National University Sport Federations) from five continents. Between 1949 and 2011, it was based in

Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...

(

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

); it was relocated to

Lausanne Lausanne ( , ; ; ) is the capital and largest List of towns in Switzerland, city of the Swiss French-speaking Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Vaud, in Switzerland. It is a hilly city situated on the shores of Lake Geneva, about halfway bet ...

(

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

) since 2011. The FISU stages its events every two years. They currently include three

World University Games The FISU World University Games, formerly the Universiade, is an international multi-sport event, organized for university athletes by the International University Sports Federation (FISU). The former name is a portmanteau of the words "Universi ...

(beach,summer and winter) and 34 World University Championships. It also organizes conferences, forums and seminars to promote sport as a component of the educational system. FISU sanctions other competitions open to university students, such as the biennial World University Bridge Championships in

contract bridge Contract bridge, or simply bridge, is a trick-taking game, trick-taking card game using a standard 52-card deck. In its basic format, it is played by four players in two Team game, competing partnerships, with partners sitting opposite each othe ...

, "played under the auspices of the

FISU The International University Sports Federation (FISU; ) is responsible for the organization and governance of worldwide sports competitions for student-athletes between the ages of 17 and 25. It was founded in 1949 as the world governing body of ...

Organization

A General Assembly elects an executive committee for a four-year term.

Oleg Matytsin Oleg Vasilyevich Matytsin (, born 19 May 1964) is a Russian professor and doctor of Pedagogical Sciences, Corresponding Member of Russian Academy of Education and Honoured Doctor of Beijing Sport University, serving as Member of State Duma and C ...

was elected president for 2015–2019, succeeding Claude-Louis Gallien. The secretary-general and CEO is Eric Saintrond; regional vice-presidents are Leonz Eder, Luciano Cabral, Marian Dymalski, Leopold Senghor and Liguo Yang. Past presidents include: * 1949–1961: Paul Schleimer (LUX) * 1961–1999: Primo Nebiolo (ITA) * 1999–2011: George E. Killian (USA) * 2011–2015: Claude–Louis Gallien (FRA) * 2015-2022: Oleg Matytsin (RUS) * 2022-2027: Leonz Eder (SUI)

Continental Associations

*International University Sports Federation since 1949 * Africa University Sports (FASU) since 1971 * Asian University Sports Federation (AUSF) since 1992 *

European University Sports Association European University Sports Association (EUSA) is an umbrella non-governmental (NGO) Nonprofit organization, non-profit organisation, working in the field of university sport in Europe. It links national university sport federations, universities, ...

since 1999 * FISU Americas since 2007 *

FISU Oceania The International University Sports Federation (FISU; ) is responsible for the organization and governance of worldwide sports competitions for student-athletes between the ages of 17 and 25. It was founded in 1949 as the world governing body of ...

since 2008

Events and sports

Summer

The

FISU World University Games The FISU World University Games, formerly the Universiade, is an international multi-sport event, organized for university athletes by the International University Sports Federation (FISU). The former name is a portmanteau of the words "Universi ...

, formerly and commonly referred to as the Universiade, is an international sporting event staged every two years in a different city. There were 10,622 participants in Shenzhen, China, in 2011, and 174 participating countries in Daegu, Korea, in 2003. The Summer Universiade includes 12 compulsory sports (15 compulsory disciplines):

Winter

The Winter Games includes eight compulsory sports and one to four optional sports are chosen by the host country or city.If speed skating is at the list of the optional sports,a fourth could be choose.Winter Universiade
. Retrieved 2016-01-19.

World University Championships

While the Universiades are held in odd years, the

FISU World University Championships The FISU World University Championships are part of the sporting events of the International University Sports Federation. Launched the FISU World University Championships in 1963, with Lund, Sweden hosting the Handball event. Championships In ...

are held in even years. It includes individual/team sports, indoor/outdoor sports, combat sports, mind sports and summer/winter sports.

International Day of University Sport

The International Day of University Sport is celebrated every year on 20 September by the FISU and

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

Continental

* All-Africa University Games *

European Universities Games The European Universities Games (EUG) is an international multi-sport event, organized every two years for university athletes by the European University Sports Association (EUSA). The first edition was held in 2012 in Cordoba, Spain Spain ...

* FISU America Games * South American University Athletics Championships * Asian University Athletics Championships *

SELL Student Games SELL Student Games is a multi-sport event that is open for all university and college students all over the world. The name of the games is according to the first letters of the hosting countries who all in the Baltic Sea precinct – Finland, Est ...

* ASEAN University Games

Banning

In light of the

2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, , starting the largest and deadliest war in Europe since World War II, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, conflict between the two countries which began in 2014. The fighting has caused hundreds of thou ...

, FISU suspended Russian and Belarusian athletes and national university sports federation officials from participating in FISU competitions and activities until at least the end of 2022, cancelled two FISU University World Cups in Russia and a FISU World University Championships in Belarus scheduled for 2022 (the FISU University World Cup Powerlifting from Moscow, the FISU University World Cup Rugby Sevens from Kazan, and the FISU World University Championship Waterski & Wakeboard from Belarus), and cancelled Russia's hosting of the FISU University World Cup Combat Sports and associated meetings scheduled for 2022. The FISU also suspended the hosting rights and cancelled the

2023 Summer World University Games The 2023 FISU Summer World University Games (Universiade), officially known as the 2023 Summer Universiade or the XXXII Summer World University Games, and commonly known as Yekaterinburg 2023 or Ekaterinburg 2023, was planned to be the 32nd editi ...

, scheduled for

Yekaterinburg Yekaterinburg (, ; ), alternatively Romanization of Russian, romanized as Ekaterinburg and formerly known as Sverdlovsk ( ; 1924–1991), is a city and the administrative centre of Sverdlovsk Oblast and the Ural Federal District, Russia. The ci ...

References

{{Portal bar, Sport Organisations based in Lausanne FISU World University Games Sports organizations established in 1949 Student organizations established in 1949 Student sports governing bodies Association of IOC Recognised International Sports Federations International student sports organizations