The 1st Central Asia Student Sports Federations Forum, held from 29 September to 2 October 2026, brought together FISU leadership, FISU Central Asia and national university sports federations from across the region, confirming the growing political and institutional commitment to student sport in Central Asia.
National delegations from Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan attended the Forum, while FISU President Leonz Eder and Deputy Secretary General Fernando Parente led the FISU delegation throughout the programme.
A clear national priority
On the opening day, the Forum delegation was received by Kongratbay Sharipov, Minister of Higher Education, Science and Innovation of the Republic of Uzbekistan and Chairman of the Uzbekistan Student Sports Association (USSA) (here with FISU President Leonz Eder), alongside representatives of FISU Central Asia and the Asian University Sports Federation (AUSF), represented by its First Vice-President, Jargalsaikhan Dorjsuren.
In the meeting, the Minister underlined the importance his ministry, and the country as a whole, attaches to sport in higher education and to sport more broadly, describing it as a clear and central national priority. Bilaterally, both sides expressed their intention to develop cooperation between FISU and he Republic of Uzbekistan, with particular focus, within the Ministry’s remit, on the organisation of sporting and educational events and on the development of student wellbeing initiatives.
Forum sessions at UzDJTSU
The Forum’s working sessions took place at the Uzbek State University of Physical Culture and Sport (UzDJTSU), opening with welcome remarks from the Rector, Rashid Matkarimov, followed by Leonz Eder, Kairat Zakiryanov, President of FISU Central Asia and of the National Student Sports Union of Kazakhstan and Jargalsaikhan Dorjsuren from AUSF.
In his address, Leonz Eder presented FISU’s Strategy 2031, due to be submitted for approval at the next FISU General Assembly, to be held in January in Changchun, China, just before the next 2027 Winter Universiade, together with an overview of FISU’s programmes in the field of sport.
Fernando Parente‘s intervention focused on the potential for developing regional structures in coordination with CUSFs and NUSFs, as well as on FISU’s education and development offer, with particular emphasis on student wellbeing.
At the close of the Forum, Leonz Eder was awarded the title of Honorary Professor of the University by its Rector, Rashid Matkarimov.
A new Olympic Village and a strong competitive record
The following day, the delegation visited Tashkent’s newly inaugurated Olympic Village and its Olympic Museum, home to world-class training and competition facilities.
There, a meeting with Murod Ismoilov, the Deputy Minister of Sports, gave the FISU President the opportunity to review the country’s internal sporting performance and participation figures.
According to data presented by the local responsables for Sports, Uzbekistan now counts 207 higher education institutions (101 public, 74 private and 32 foreign) and over 1.5 million full- and part-time students, supported by national programmes such as the Five Initiatives Olympiad (reaching 452,000 students in 2025, with a 2026 target of 600,000), the New Uzbekistan Student Olympiad (155,000 participants) and the Student League Sports Competitions (281,000 participants in 2025, rising to a targeted 300,000 in 2026).
Leonz Eder praised the scale and quality of this work, noting Uzbekistan’s strong showing at the Rhine-Ruhr 2025 Summer World University Games, where the country finished 13th in the medal table (15 medals in total — 4 gold, 4 silver and 7 bronze), and discussed the possibility of Uzbekistan hosting FISU World University Championships in the near future in disciplines with a strong local tradition, such as Combat Sports and Chess, alongside other major FISU events.
Engaging students across Tashkent and Samarkand
Beyond UzDJTSU, where a combat sports demonstration drew hundreds of spectators, the delegation also visited the Tashkent Architecture and Civil Engineering University, accompanied by the Minister of Higher Education, Science and Innovation, where a large-scale multi-sport student competition was taking place as part of the Five Initiatives Olympiad.
In Samarkand, FISU and UzSSA representatives were welcomed by hundreds of students and faculty members of the International University of Tourism and Cultural Heritage “Silk Road”, where they had the opportunity to introduce the global university sport movement to the local academic community.
Strengthening institutional ties
During the visit, FISU signed Memoranda of Understanding with the Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Innovation of the Republic of Uzbekistan and with UzDJTSU, formalising the cooperation built throughout the Forum.
Reflecting on the visit, FISU President Leonz Eder said: “This Forum confirmed what we already knew: Central Asia, and Uzbekistan in particular, has made student sport a genuine national priority. I want to thank the country’s political leadership, and in particular the First Vice-President Erkin Kodirov of USSA and his team, for their remarkable hospitality and for the quality of the work accomplished here. What we have seen, in terms of infrastructure, participation and political commitment, is a real contribution to the development of university sport worldwide.”
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