IOC President Kirsty Coventry welcomed FISU President Leonz Eder and Secretary General/CEO Matthias Remund to her office at IOC headquarters for an exchange of views.
FISU has been an IOC-recognised federation since 1961, and in 2016 the two multisport federations signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU).
Coventry was briefed by the FISU President on the upcoming Universiades and showed great interest in FISU’s new strategy, the main pillars of which were presented by Remund. “During my time as a student in the USA, I experienced first-hand how important coordination between elite sport and academic studies is,” emphasised the IOC President. “In line with FISU’s motto ‘excellence in mind and body’, we attach great importance to supporting dual careers,” underscored the FISU President, adding that “students should not have to choose between sport and their studies, but must be able to pursue both in parallel.” Secretary-General/CEO Matthias Remund added “FISU plans to introduce an international label for universities that are supportive of elite sport.” He also outlined the planned FISU Master’s programme and invited the IOC to participate by providing guest lecturers.
Regarding FISU’s flexibility in its sports programme, the FISU representatives provided information on the introduction of cross-country running at the Changchun 2027 Winter Universiade and the inclusion of Nordic combined in the 2029 edition. “This information is very useful and helpful to me,” replied the IOC President.
At the conclusion of this very open exchange of views, FISU President Eder extended an invitation to attend both Universiades in 2027. Earlier, he and Remund had presented her a gift of a jukebox playing the FISU anthem.
