FISU AND THE UNIVERSITY
SPORTS MOVEMENT
In addition to 2019 marking the 20th anniversary of the European University
Sports Association, it was also a major milestone year for FISU, the International
University Sports Federation, who celebrated their 70th anniversary.
As the world governing body in the
university sport sphere, FISU has been
the benchmark of success for many
years, as we reflect on their impressive
progress since their founding 70 years
ago.
University competitions are among sport’s
oldest traditions, with European universities
playing a protagonist’s role. A telling ex-
ample of this is the annual Boat Race – the
traditional rowing race between Oxford and
Cambridge, which first took place in 1856.
Before the turn of the 20th century, competi-
tive university sport had moved beyond the
eight oarsmen driving rowing shells up
and down the River Thames. In the years
before Baron Pierre de Coubertin brought
the modern Olympiad to Athens, schools
in Great Britain, Hungary, and Switzerland
started holding their first inter-university
sports events. National university sports
associations emerged soon after, with many
European nations having celebrated 100 or
more years of service today – on FISU’s 70th
and EUSA’s 20th year anniversaries.International sports competitions came
later, as young people in Europe sought a
brighter and more peaceful future following
the First World War. The firebrand of the
global university sports movement was the
Frenchman Jean Petitjean, who organised
the first World University Games in Paris, in
May 1923.The movement started by Petitjean grew
as others sought to develop the bonds of
friendship that could help maintain a lastingpeace after the First World War. From 1924
to 1939, many notable university sporting
events were organised. After the 8th Interna-
tional University Games in Monaco in 1939,
the Second World War interrupted this great
tradition. But once peace returned, Paris
symbolically became once again a capital of
World University Games in 1947.During this time, the era’s sporting visionar-
ies came together to found the International
University Sports Federation, FISU, in spring
1949 in Zurich. Created under the impetus
of several European countries, the federa-
tion looked to rise above the shadow of the
cold war that was dividing university sport.
They aimed to do this by bringing together
student-athletes from all over the world.01 02 03
SUMMER UNIVERSIADE POSTERS
- Turin 1959
- Moscow 1973
- Zagreb 1987