On this day 75 years ago, the founding General Assembly of the International University Sports Federation / Fédération Internationale du Sport Universitaire (FISU) took place in Zurich.

Although FISU was officially established in 1949, the origin of organised university sport goes back to 1919, having the first "World Student Games"; held in 1923 in Paris. In August 1949, FISU saw its first event -International University Sports Week - in the Italian town of Merano. This inaugural edition was the fruit of the efforts of the Centro Universitario Sportivo Italiano (CUSI); now FederCUSI.

The organisation's flagship event, FISU World University Games, formerly named Universiades, celebrated its 1st installment of the summer edition in 1959 (Turin/Torino, ITA), and a year later the winter one (Chamonix, FRA).

FISU has come a long way since its establishment, and nowadays offers a rich sports and education programme across the world.

European University Sports Association (EUSA) is the continental university sports governing body in Europe, a proud FISU Associate Member, turning 25 in 2024.

For detailed FISU history, please see fisu.net/federation-internationale-du-sport-universitaire/fisu-history

ph.: FISU