FISU Postpones University World Cup Football to 2023

The FISU University World Cup Football has been postponed to 2023 because of the current pandemic, which has already had a massive impact on the planning of international events.

The decision was taken during the FISU Executive Committee meeting that was held on 14-15 May. The committee believes that by hosting the next edition in 2023, it will reinforce the image and quality of the tournament, giving the chance to our Continental Associations to hold their Qualifying Tournaments, which are a basic for the philosophy of this event. It will also minimise the impact of travel restrictions and recover the confidence of the participating delegations to travel.

The FISU University World Cup Football was expected to be held on 18-29 May 2022 in Jinjiang, having already been postponed from 2021. The latest postponement will bring the natural calendar cycle back to its original format of organising the FISU University World Cup Football tournament every odd year.

The new dates of the tournament will be announced at a later date, but the continental Qualifying Tournaments are scheduled to take place from January to December 2022.

The current pandemic has forced both FISU and the Federation of University Sports of China (FUSC) to work in strong collaboration to safeguard the interests and health of the athletes and the suitability of the event.

“Concerning the continuation of the preparation work for 2023, we will keep the same dedication in the event preparation with the FUSC and the Organisation Committee to make sure the World Cups will happen seamlessly,” says Julien Carrel, FISU World University Championships Manager.

The FISU University World Cup 3×3 Basketball and Rugby Sevens tournaments remain scheduled for the second half of 2022.