Russian rights to host mass student gathering ‘suspended’
The hosting rights of the Russian city of Ekaterinburg for the 2023 World University Games have been “postponed,” according to global federation FISU.
Ekaterinburg was due to hold the student sporting showpiece – also known as the Universiade – next August, although its future is now uncertain.
“An online meeting of the FISU Executive Committee (EC) today decided to postpone the Ekaterinburg’s hosting rights for the 2023 FISU World University Games,” read a statement.
“Among the events previously withdrawn from Russia was the inaugural FISU University World Cup Combat Sports, scheduled for September of this year in Ekaterinburg.
“The EC approved Samsun in Turkey as a replacement host, with the rescheduled FISU University World Cup Combat Sports now set to take place in 2022.”
FISU (International University Sports Federation) added that an Executive Committee meeting scheduled for Ekaterinburg later this year would be switched to Brussels and held on November 10-12.
Russian officials denied that the FISU decision meant that Ekaterinburg would automatically lose the right to host the 2023 Universiade, which sees thousands of student athletes gather to compete for medals across dozens of events.
“The games will take place later. On November 10-12, an Executive Committee meeting will be held in Brussels where a new date will be determined. No one is taking away the Universiade from us,” said Ekaterinburg organizer Alexander Chernov in comments to Match TV.
It was suggested elsewhere that any decision by FISU to strip Russia of the University Games would inflict considerable financial damage on the organization, and that every effort would be made to keep the event in Ekaterinburg considering the construction work already underway in anticipation.
Russia has found itself deprived of a host of major sporting occasions after Moscow launched its military campaign in Ukraine.
Among the most high-profile was the UEFA Champions League final which was due to be held in St. Petersburg in May but was moved to Paris.
Just this week, ice hockey federation the IIHF confirmed that the 2023 World Championship would not be held in St. Petersburg and would be switched to an as-yet undetermined location.
Russia hosted the Winter Universiade in the Siberian city of Krasnoyarsk back in 2019, while Kazan welcomed the summer version in 2013.
