FISU World University Games
recurring international multi-sport event, organized for university athletes by the International University Sports Federation (FISU)
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 "University" and "Olympiad".
The Universiade is referred to in English as the World University Games or World Student Games. However, this latter term can also refer to competitions for sub-University grade students. In July 2020 as part of a new branding system by the FISU, it was stated that the Universiade was to be officially branded as the FISU World University Games.
The most recent summer event was the 2025 Summer World University Games held in Rhine-Ruhr region, Germany held from 16-27 July 2025, while the most recent winter event was the 2025 Winter World University Games held in Turin, Italy from 13 to 23 January 2025.
Precursors
The idea of a global international sports competition between student-athletes pre-dates the 1949 formation of the International University Sports Federation (FISU), which now hosts the Universiade, and even the first World University Games held in 1923. English peace campaigner Hodgson Pratt was an early advocate of such an event, proposing (and passing) a motion at the 1891 Universal Peace Congress in Rome to create a series of international student conferences in rotating host capital cities, with activities including art and sport. This did not come to pass, but a similar event was created in Germany in 1909 in the form of the Academic Olympia. Five editions were held from 1909 to 1913, all of which were hosted in Germany following the cancellation of an Italy-based event.
The public source identifies “FISU World University Games” as recurring international multi-sport event, organized for university athletes by the International University Sports Federation (FISU). This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around FISU, World and University.
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The record creator and administrative purpose are central evidence, because official documentation reflects both action and institutional priorities. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 24, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q188158. VIAF identifies the subject as 144251677. The Library of Congress control number is n81008098. 4 of 4 selected statements include explicit references; 1 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 2020, 2025, 1949 and 1923.
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This entry incorporates text from “FISU World University Games” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.