FISU strengthens its Asian agenda ahead of two major university sports events in 2027.
The International University Sports Federation FISU has further intensified preparations for two key stops on its 2027 calendar following a visit by a high-level delegation to China and the Republic of Korea. According to FISU’s announcement of 16 June 2026, the delegation led by Secretary General and CEO Matthias Remund visited Changchun, Beijing and Seoul to discuss operational preparations, educational cooperation and the long-term development of university sport with local organizers, universities and sports institutions. According to the same source, the delegation also included Chief Sports Officer Shen Zhen and Director for Sustainability and FISU Master Delise O’Meally. The visit had a dual function: to check progress in the organization of the Changchun 2027 Winter Universiade and the Chungcheong 2027 Summer World University Games, but also to expand the academic links that FISU increasingly sees as an integral part of its global sports model.
The Asian part of FISU’s calendar is particularly important because two consecutive major showcases of university sport in 2027 will take place less than seven months apart. The official Changchun 2027 website states that the 33rd Winter Universiade will be held from 15 to 25 January 2027 in China’s Jilin province, with Changchun as the main competition hub and Jilin City as an additional zone. FISU’s official page for Chungcheong 2027 confirms that the Summer World University Games will be held from 1 to 12 August 2027 in the Republic of Korea. This means that the organization’s attention in the coming period is strongly directed toward East Asia, an area that already has extensive experience in hosting major multisport events and where universities, public authorities and sports federations are increasingly visible as joint organizational actors.
Changchun and Jilin in the focus of winter preparations
The Chinese part of the visit began in Changchun, the city that will carry the largest share of responsibility for the 2027 Winter Universiade. FISU announced that the discussions in Changchun included meetings at Jilin University, where the possibility of a new partnership focused on developing future sports leaders was opened. In that part of the programme, according to FISU, Remund presented the organization’s broader vision, from international competitions and talent development to the Healthy Campus programme, which places university sport within a broader framework of health, education and the quality of student life. The meeting with Changchun Mayor Gu Gang was focused on the practical steps needed to turn the event from a plan into a feasible international project.
The official Changchun 2027 website states that the FISU Executive Committee approved Changchun’s candidacy on 26 November 2025 and that, on the same day, FISU, the Federation of University Sports of China and the Changchun Municipal People’s Government signed the host city contract. According to these data, the programme will include 13 sports and 108 disciplines, while parasport competitions will be included in cross-country skiing and alpine skiing. Changchun will be responsible for all ice sports, as well as cross-country skiing, ski orienteering and freestyle skiing, while the Jilin City zone will host alpine skiing, ski mountaineering, biathlon and snowboard. Among the listed key venues are the Jilin Speed Skating Oval, Changchun Jingyuetan Ski Resort, Jilin Songhua Lake Ski Resort and Beidahu Ski Resort.
According to an earlier FISU announcement on the awarding of the hosting rights, Changchun based its candidacy on experience with major winter competitions, local infrastructure and the position of Jilin province in an area that organizers describe as favourable for snow sports. FISU then stated that students from numerous universities in Jilin province, the local population and the economy would benefit from the organization of the event, while Remund highlighted in that announcement the expected legacy for infrastructure, organizers and volunteers. Such messages are now gaining an operational dimension: less than one year before the start of the Winter Universiade, the emphasis is no longer only on candidacy and promotion, but on the coordination of venues, transport, accommodation, volunteer programmes and international protocols.
The importance of Changchun for FISU goes beyond the competition schedule alone. The official page of FISU’s education programme states that the FISU World Conference will also be held in Changchun from 16 to 18 January 2027, giving the winter event an academic component as well. In practice, this means that alongside sports competitions there will be discussions on university sport, the development of student-athletes, sustainability and the management of international events. Such a model corresponds to FISU’s broader approach, according to which major competitions are not only a sports calendar but also a platform for education, research and the exchange of management experience.
Beijing as an academic and institutional link
After Changchun, the FISU delegation continued talks in Beijing. According to FISU’s announcement, federation representatives met at Peking University with President Gao Song and members of the academic community to discuss the connection between sport and education. This part of the visit fits into FISU’s increasingly pronounced practice of linking the hosting of major events with local university systems, and not only with organizing committees and sports venues. For global university sport, this is important because competitions bring together athletes who are simultaneously students, so the success of events increasingly depends on cooperation among sports, academic and public institutions.
In Beijing, according to FISU, a meeting was also held at the headquarters of the Federation of Chinese University and School Sports, FOCUSS. The meeting was organized by Cheng Dongshen, Vice-President and Secretary General of FOCUSS, and was attended by sports leaders and representatives of several leading universities, including Peking University, Tsinghua University, Beijing Normal University, China University of Geo-Sciences and China University of Chinese Medicine. FISU stated that the participants exchanged views, ambitions and ideas on strengthening university sport in China, but also in the broader international environment. The visit thereby also gained a strategic dimension: preparations for Changchun 2027 served as an entry point for discussion on the long-term place of university sport in Chinese higher education.
For FISU, such a network is important because the organization, according to its own educational materials, alongside sports competitions develops events and programmes intended for students, student-athletes, sports officials, managers, organizers of major events and academic experts. Among the topics highlighted by FISU are equal opportunities, gender equality, leadership, dual career, ethics, the fight against doping and the role of volunteers. For this reason, the meetings in Beijing were not merely a protocol addition to the trip, but part of a broader attempt to connect the hosting of one major winter event with the education of future experts in sports administration.
Seoul brings a memorandum with Kookmin University
The visit continued in Seoul, where the most concrete result was the signing of a memorandum of understanding between FISU and Kookmin University. FISU announced that the agreement lays the foundations for cooperation in postgraduate education in sports management, while Kookmin University, according to a report by The Korea Times, stated that the goal is to jointly develop and implement a new master’s programme in the field of sports education. According to the same report, the agreement was signed by Kookmin University President Jeong Seung-ryul and FISU Secretary General and CEO Matthias Remund, while the ceremony was attended by Kookmin University Foundation Chairman Kim Ji-yong and FISU Master Director Delise O’Meally.
Kookmin University, according to The Korea Times, stated that the agreement should strengthen a global educational foundation that connects sport, education and international exchange. After the ceremony, a working meeting was also held between officials of the university’s College of Physical Education and FISU on the launch and implementation of the programme. President Jeong Seung-ryul stated, according to the same report, that the agreement goes beyond a usual institutional partnership because it connects international university sport and higher education. The university also emphasized that it wants to open broader opportunities for global learning and exchange to students and to develop a new educational model in the sports field.
For FISU, this memorandum comes at a time when educational programmes are becoming an increasingly important part of the international sports system. FISU states on its official pages that educational events and programmes accompany sports competitions and that the organization’s aim is to encourage the study and advancement of university sport through lectures, publications, seminars and other activities. In this context, cooperation with Kookmin University can be viewed as a continuation of the expansion of FISU’s educational portfolio, but also as an attempt to involve the Asian university space more strongly in the development of sports managers who understand international standards, local systems and the needs of major competitions.
Chungcheong 2027 enters the next phase of organization
In the Republic of Korea, the FISU delegation also met with the organizers of the Chungcheong 2027 Summer World University Games. According to FISU, the discussions included Changseop Lee, Vice-President of the Organizing Committee, and newly appointed Secretary General Jungwoo Lee, while the topics were the pace of preparations and further coordination. FISU’s official event page confirms that the Games are planned from 1 to 12 August 2027 in the Chungcheong region, while in March 2026 FISU announced that approximately 15,000 participants from more than 150 countries and competitions in 18 sports were expected.
The organization in Chungcheong is particularly complex because the event is not tied to a single city. Official Chungcheong 2027 materials state that the hosts are Daejeon and Sejong, as well as the provinces of Chungcheongbuk-do and Chungcheongnam-do, that is, four metropolitan and provincial entities acting as joint hosts. According to the official competition website, the programme includes sports such as athletics, swimming, diving, water polo, basketball, volleyball, badminton, table tennis, tennis, judo, taekwondo, fencing, gymnastics, rhythmic gymnastics, archery, golf, rowing and beach volleyball. Such a distribution of sports and locations requires precise coordination of transport, accommodation, security, volunteers and the technical requirements of international federations.
In March 2026, after a coordination visit, FISU announced that construction of the participants’ village in Sejong was progressing faster than planned and that representatives of the organization had toured the construction site and several new or renovated venues in the Chungcheong region. Chief Sports Officer Shen Zhen then, according to FISU, emphasized that the federation would continue to work closely with the organizing committee for the successful delivery of the event. Organizing Committee Vice-President Lee Chang-seop stated in the same announcement that the inspections helped align infrastructural and operational elements. The new meetings during the June visit to Seoul therefore build on an already initiated process of technical review.
The Summer Games in Chungcheong will also have an educational layer. FISU’s calendar of educational events states that the FISU World Conference in Chungcheong will be held from 3 to 5 August 2027, during the Games themselves. This confirms a model in which competitions, conferences and academic discussions become interconnected parts of the same project. The official Chungcheong 2027 website emphasizes concepts focused on athletes, experience, human rights, future technology and a climate-positive approach, showing that the organizers want to present the event as more than a series of sports finals.
The Asian agenda as a test of FISU’s global model
FISU’s visit to China and the Republic of Korea shows that preparations for 2027 are taking place on several levels simultaneously. The first is the classic organizational level, which includes venues, accommodation, transport, protocol, technical services and the competition schedule. The second is the institutional level, at which FISU aligns its work with cities, provinces, national university sports federations and organizing committees. The third is the educational level, visible in the discussions with Jilin University, Peking University and Kookmin University, as well as in the conferences planned during major events. It is precisely this combination of sport, diplomacy and academic cooperation that is increasingly clearly shaping the way FISU positions university sport on the global stage.
According to the available information published by 22 June 2026, neither FISU nor the local organizers have announced changes of dates for Changchun 2027 or Chungcheong 2027. The focus remains on implementing already confirmed plans and on turning partnerships into concrete programmes for students, athletes, coaches, volunteers and sports administrators. In that sense, the June visit by the high-level delegation was not an isolated diplomatic tour, but part of a broader process in which the success of the two events in 2027 will depend on the ability of the hosts and FISU to connect sports standards, educational goals and a long-term legacy for university communities.
Sources:
- FISU – announcement on the delegation’s visit to China and the Republic of Korea, meetings in Changchun, Beijing and Seoul, and the memorandum with Kookmin University (link)
- Official Changchun 2027 Winter Universiade website – information on dates, hosting, sports, competition zones and venues (link)
- FISU – announcement on the awarding of the Winter Universiade hosting rights to Changchun and the context of organization in Jilin province (link)
- FISU – official event page for the Chungcheong 2027 FISU World University Games with dates and the list of sports (link)
- FISU – report on the coordination visit to Chungcheong in March 2026 and the progress of preparations for the 2027 Games (link)
- Official Chungcheong 2027 website – overview of the vision, concept and organizational framework of the Games (link)
- The Korea Times – report on the agreement between Kookmin University and FISU on the development of a master’s programme (link)
- FISU Education – official description of FISU’s educational programmes, conferences and educational activity goals (link)