FISU rebrands World University Leagues as University World Cup

Meeting prior to the Krasnoyarsk 2019 Winter Universiade, the Executive Committee of the International University Sports Federation (FISU) has announced that future World University Leagues events are to be rebranded as the University World Cup.

The decision will unify the World University Leagues and upcoming University World Cup sport properties under the University World Cup brand.

As a result the inaugural University World Cup event will be the football tournament taking place in Jinjiang in China this November.

Organisers of the football competition revealed they have signed a title sponsor, sportswear company Kelme, and have secured broadcast partners.

In other discussions, FISU Secretary General and Chief Executive Eric Saintrond reported that the body is steadily progressing with its digital-first plans.

This was supported by the FISU media team, who spoke about their efforts to keep the traditional FISU audience informed on developments while also targeting university students with original content and programming, live sports production and news.

Krasnoyarsk 2019 will be accessible across the world, with every medal event available for international distribution.

Each of these events will also be available on FISU’s new live streaming site, FISU.TV, on various social channels and on the Olympic Channel.

Torin Koos, Head of FISU's media department, told the meeting “our goal is to make FISU events available to anyone who wants to watch, anywhere in the world, on any device.

"As the sports leader for international university sports events, it just makes sense to do all we can in digital media - that’s where we can find our core audience of university sports fans.

"With this edition of the Winter Universiade, we are getting close to reaching that goal."

The meeting went on to discuss FISU's strategic plans for the future, with Director of Education and Development Lilia Barieva confirming that the organisation is now beginning an in-depth planning phase for the next two years.

FISU Oceania Continental Association delegate Martin Doulton raised the question of the place of esports in university sport, a topic currently prominent across the whole of the sporting world.

The Krasnoyarsk 2019 Winter Universiade is taking place from 2nd to 12th March.

Image: The opening of the Krasnoyarsk 2019 Winter Universiade. Courtesy of FISU.