Ekaterinburg will host the 32nd Summer Universiade in 2023. FISU Executive Committee members elected the Russian city during the federation’s biannual meeting with an unanimous vote 

NAPLES, Italy – With one day remaining until more than 6,000 athletes march into San Paulo Stadium to officially open Summer Universiade 2019, the event’s future two editions were secured during second and final day of the FISU Executive Committee meeting. This ensures the future of university sport’s crowning event for at least the next four years. 

Following the bid city’s presentation, the FISU Executive Committee granted the 32nd Summer Universiade to Ekaterinburg with a 23-0 vote in favour. 

FISU President Oleg Matytsin delivered the news: “Officially we make the decision to attribute the Summer Universiade 2023 to Ekaterinburg. Congratulations!” 

Matytsin’s words were met with smiles and celebrations from Ekaterinburg’s representatives and FISU executive leaders alike. And for good reason: the recent experience of Kazan 2013 and Krasnoyarsk 2019 hosting the Summer and Winter Universiades has shown the country to be a reliable university sports partner and experienced event host. 

Ekaterinburg looks poised as an ideal continuation of this pattern. As a sporting city, it has held public events, national championships, Champions League matches and was one of the 2018 FIFA World Cup host venues.

Media operations at Summer Universiade 2023 will benefit especially from these previous events, as the International Broadcast Centre and Main Press Centre are already in place, fully equipped and

successfully stress-tested during the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia ™, and contributing to that event’s legacy. 

Ekaterinburg 2023’s sports programme will incorporate FISU’s 15 compulsory sports: archery, artistic gymnastics, athletics, badminton, basketball, diving, fencing, judo, rhythmic gymnastics, swimming, table tennis, taekwondo, tennis, volleyball, waterpolo. 

Universiade host cities may also present up to three optional sports for inclusion into that edition of the Universiade today. Ekaterinburg presented boxing, rugby sevens and sambo for the 2023 event. The FISU executive committee unanimously accepted all three.

The Ekaterinburg bid presented the city as a compact hub, where training and competition for all 18 sports would take place across 28 venues. Twenty of these venues are currently in place and home to sports activity. Of the eight anticipated additional venues, only one would be purpose-built in anticipation of the Summer Universiade.

“This development is part of the city’s central development plan,” said 2023 bid Director General, Alexander Chernov. “These sports complexes will be built whether or not you attribute the games to Ekaterinburg, but, of course, we hope you do.” 

During the attribution celebration, FISU President Oleg Matytsin had the following to say about the Summer Universiade 2023: “Once again, my congratulations to the city of Ekaterinburg. And to you, too, the team behind the bid that has made today’s announcement a reality today. The passion you show for student sport will certainly shine through in just over four year’s time. This will, I am sure, create the perfect atmosphere for the rest university athletes in the world.” 

Ekaterinburg is one of Russia’s largest cities, often called the ‘third capital’, with a population of just over 1.5 million. The FISU leadership has been assured of maximum support from the Russian Federal Government at the highest level. 

The International University Sports Federation – FISU 

Founded in 1949, FISU stands for Fédération Internationale du Sport Universitaire (International University Sports Federation). FISU was formed within university institutions in order to promote sports values and sports practice in harmony with the university spirit. Promoting sports values means encouraging friendship, fraternity, fair-play, perseverance, integrity and cooperation amongst students, who one day may have responsibilities and key positions in politics, economy, culture and industry.

With FISU’s motto being ‘Today’s Stars, Tomorrow’s Leaders’, all FISU events include educational and cultural aspects, bringing together sport and academia from all over the world to celebrate with a spirit of friendship and sportsmanship. FISU cooperates in developing its events and programmes with all major international sports and educational organisations. As major outcomes of those collaborations, in 2015, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) proclaimed the International Day of University Sport to be celebrated annually on 20 September – an event that has seen huge growth in its first few years. 

FISU is composed of 174 Member Associations (National University Sports Federations). The FISU General Assembly elects the members of the FISU Executive Committee, its board of directors. A total of 14 permanent committees advise the Executive Committee in their specialised areas. For the daily administration of FISU, the FISU Executive Committee relies on the Secretary General, who is assisted by the FISU staff. FISU’s headquarters are in Lausanne, Switzerland. 

For more information please contact FISU Media at media@fisu.net or Press Officer Tina Sharma at t.sharma@fisu.net

For up-to-the-minute information and updates on FISU, please visit our website www.fisu.net and follow us on our social media channels:

Twitter: @FISU 

Facebook: @FISU 

Instagram: FISU 

Videos: FISUTV 

Photos on Flickr: fisumedia