More than 30 FISU Student Ambassadors travelled to Sweden. On Wednesday, they made sure to attend the “Meet the FISU President” session, which they love as much as Leonz Eder does.
They are the future of university sport as well as crucial links between the International University Sport Federation (FISU) and their respective countries and universities.
More than 30 FISU Student Ambassadors from all five continents are working, listening, presenting, exchanging, playing and learning at the Östersund 2026 FISU World Forum.
They attend specific training and workshops as well as the plenary sessions where they get the opportunity to ask questions to world-renowned lecturers. They also have to work on student projects and will present posters on the last day.
They found out that the coffee breaks in Sweden are called “fika” and often come with something sweet, often cinnamon flavoured. They played Brännboll, tried shooting like biathletes and watched a traditional show from the Sami people.
They get many chances to meet many other Student Ambassadors, but also other stakeholders from the world university sports movement. And of course, being in ABBA’s country, the networking sessions are called “Knowing me, knowing you”.
And one of the events they most look forward to is the FISU Forum Fair, where each National University Sport Federation gets to share specialities and traditions from their country and exchange gifts such as pins, keyrings etc.
Sports, visits, cultural activities and much more
Meet FISU President
On the first day of the event, during the opening press conference, Halima Bakkar from Algeria (here with the Forum Organising Committee President, Lovisa Broms) said she felt “like the kid who had just won the last golden ticket from the Charlie and the Chocolate Factory movie: I am so happy and feel so privileged to be here. Thank you so much FISU for giving me this opportunity.”
Smiling from morning to evening, the handball goalkeeper certainly didn’t miss her chance to directly ask a question to FISU President Leonz Eder, during the very popular “Meet the FISU President” session.
I heard you prefer to be a number two and stay behind the scenes, so how come you ended up becoming president?
Haha! I see you have done research about me! It is true that as a first vice president you can easily say no to some duties, which is no longer the case now (laughs)… At the time, the FISU President, who is a good friend of mine, was Russian. He suddenly became the Sports Minister at a time when there were many athletes from his country suspended for doping. Then the conflict broke with Ukraine and we had to take the really hard decision to suspend him. So I became acting president. And I started to really enjoy meeting all these different top people, which is a much more direct way to promote FISU. Next year I will celebrate my 24 years as part of the Executive Committee. In Autumn there will be a new President and I’ll step down on 31 December. It is time for me to pass the baton.
Adebayo Olatunde from Nigeria: What life lesson would you like to share with us?
Young people from your generation are more open and free than probably your parents and grandparents. Don’t be shy. Speak to us and if your voice doesn’t come across, ask for a second meeting. Build connections. And remember that you are our inspiration. Us in leadership are no better than any of you, just more experienced!
Arvid Thulin from Sweden: What career steps are you most happy that you took?
When I was seven, I wanted to practice artistic gymnastics in my small village like some older successful boys there. And from that moment I wanted to become a sports teacher and that is exactly what I did. Follow your dreams: sometimes there isn’t a direct way, but keep searching until you find the right open door.
Genevieve Gilarski from Australia: What is FISU doing to get more disability participation to the Universiades?
When you look at the Olympic Games, they are too big to be truly inclusive so they organise separate Paralympic Games. We thought for a long time about how to best include people with disabilities, even if student-athletes with disabilities represent a very small portion of the population. So starting at the Torino 2025 FISU World University Games, we had para cross-country and para alpine skiers competed on the same day and at the same venue as their teammates. This will also be the case at the upcoming Changchun 2027 Winter Universiade. In summer in Germany we had 3×3 Wheelchair basketball and in Chungcheong 2027 we will have para taekwondo. But please, help us convince more organising committees to introduce even more para sports to every event!
Sahar Waeen from Pakistan: In my country, the NUSF doesn’t pay that much attention to FISU, Is there any way you can help?
I believe you are not the only one in that situation. We have a structure and our members are the NUSFs who work together with the national sport federations. We also sometimes struggle to get them to answer our emails. We cannot force them, we just keep trying to connect with them. And convince them of the importance of their role. They are our members, but we must respect their independence. But my advice to you is to never give up! Be modest, be polite, be correct but fight for your dreams. Surround yourself with like-minded students and grow your mouvement from the base.
Maia Agustina Guerra from Argentina: Would there be a possibility for a country in South America to host the FISU Forum or other FISU events?
Of course! There are two main countries in South America who are very active in organising FISU events. They are Costa Rica, which hosted the FISU Forum four years ago and the World University Championship Cycling in 2024 and Brazil, which hosted many recent events like the Beach Sports and Combat Sports Championships as well as the super popular University World Cup 3×3 basketball. I encourage every country to bid to host a FISU event or even a continental university event.
Karl-Erik Pukk from Estonia: Our federation is great at giving responsibility to young people so the visibility of university sport continues to grow. What is FISU doing to give more power to the students?
You are lucky, because as you heard, not all national university sports federation think the same way as Estonia! So for everyone else here who is frustrated, push, you deserve a chance!
Coming back to your question, I am really happy to say that if the FISU General Assembly accepts the revision of our statutes, two students will enter the FISU Executive Committee with the exact same power and rights and responsibilities as the other members, which is a great step forward!
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