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2025 Summer World University Games

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XXXII Summer World University Games
Host cityRhine-Ruhr metropolitan region[a]
CountryGermany
MottoA Summer With Distinction (German: Sommer Cum Laude)
Nations113
Athletes7,000+ (estimated)
Events234 in 18 sports
Opening16 July 2025
Closing27 July 2025
Opened byBärbel Bas
Federal Minister of Labour and Social Affairs of Germany
Torch lighterHeide Rosendahl
Alexander Wieczerzak
Max Hartung
Mathias Mester
Nico Schlotterbeck
Sarah Wellbrock
Sonja Greinacher
Main venueMSV-Arena (opening ceremony)
Landschaftspark Duisburg-Nord (closing ceremony)
Websiterhineruhr2025.com/en

The 2025 FISU Summer World University Games, officially known as the XXXII Summer World University Games and also known as Rhine-Ruhr 2025, is a multi-sport event being held from 16 to 27 July 2025, in five cities in Rhine-Ruhr metropolitan region and Berlin as an outlying venue in Germany. The region previously hosted the 1989 Summer Universiade in Duisburg, who will also host sports during these games.

Host selection

[edit]

The German University Sports Federation (ADH) announced in August 2018 that it intended to submit a bid to FISU for a future edition of the Summer Universiade.[1][2] However, the choice of which edition and which city/region was interested was delayed until August of that same year because of school holidays. However, the choice of which edition and which city/region was interested was delayed until August of that same year because of school holidays and also for bureaucratic reasons and as the venues for the 2021 and 2023 editions had already been chosen, it would be up to the entity to choose the next host city process opened which was 2025.[3] Also noteworthy is the ADH proposal, which received approval from the German parliament in record time, being made in December of same year.[4]

Thus, the first form of contact was made soon afterwards. In mid-April 2019, an ADH delegation visited FISU headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland, which was pleased with the German intention to host the Summer Universiade, and it was agreed to immediately maintain a close and continuous talks issues related to the executive project and the rules for the bid.[5][6] With the delivery of the “Letter of Intent” to FISU in the second half of June, the bidding process began, which was approved by 95.4% of voting members present at the ADH general assembly in November and It was another milestone towards the official bid project.[7][8] Reception to the project grew exponentially and positively to the point that the Federal Ministry of the Interior (Germany), Minister-President of North Rhine-Westphalia, German Olympic Sports Confederation also almost immediately approved the proposal and started talking to the cities of Bochum, Duisburg, Düsseldorf, Essen, and Mülheim an der Ruhr so that a joint bid for the Rhine-Ruhr metropolitan region could be made, given their ease and proximity.[9][10][11]

The idea also excited the member schools of the ADH, as well as other partners in organized sport and the scientific concept. In September 2020, the feasibility study for a joint project involving 5 cities in the Rhine-Ruhr Region was released.[12][13] In September 2020, the feasibility study for a joint project involving 5 cities in the Rhine-Ruhr Region was released and approved in a virtual plenary session of the Landtag Nordrhein-Westfalen and which unanimously approved the proposal on 20 October 2020.[14] In mid-March 2021, the ADH was able to report that the bid book had been submitted to FISU within the deadline.[15][16][17] Following the final inspection visit by a FISU delegation from 7–5 May 2021, the final decision of the FISU Executive Committee was pending at its meeting on 15 May 2021 in Düsseldorf with a decision in favor of the regional proposal.[18][19] [20][21][22]

It was also expected that Budapest, the Hungarian capital that had applied to host the 2019 Summer Universiade, would make a proposal to FISU, but the city withdrew due to a lack of accommodation and other conditions. However, it was already known that FISU was in favor of the German bid.[12]

Reactions to the German application

[edit]

FISU was particularly impressed by the confident approach that the determination of a host location or region should be based on the results of a feasibility study or potential analysis, which was considered a very sensible approach, especially against the background of Hamburg's failed bid for the 2024 Summer Olympics. This will be the fourth time that the World University Games will be held in a region, instead of being centralized in a host city.[23][5]

2025 Summer World University Games bidding results
City / region Nation Votes
Rhine-Ruhr metropolitan region Germany Germany Unanimous

Development and preparations

[edit]

Venues

[edit]

The organising committee is planning to use existing and temporary sports facilities, with some existing being renovated for these games. Unlike previous editions, this edition will be completely decentralized. Instead of an athlete's village, athletes will stay in hotels and university residential buildings at the host cities and region. The competition venues are spread over five cities in the North Rhine-Westphalia state (Bochum, Duisburg, Essen, Hagen and Mülheim) and the German capital Berlin.

Originally, Düsseldorf was scheduled to host some sporting events and the opening ceremonies, but due to changes related to logistics and the event size, the city withdrew, and the event had to be replanned due to cost countermeasures.[24][25]

After this change, in September 2024, it was announced that Hagen and Berlin were added as host cities. Even though Berlin is more than 500km from the host region, the most plausible financial option for the organization was to transfer three sports to the city (swimming, diving and volleyball) while the competition area expanded to Hagen which will host some basketball tournament games.[26]

The MSV Arena in Duisburg hosted the opening ceremony
The Lohrheidestadion in is the athletics venue
Landschaftspark Duisburg-Nord, the planned venue for the closing ceremony
Messe Essen, the venue for five sports
Duisburg Sport Park, the venue for beach volleyball
Grugahalle, the main venue for the basketball tournament

North Rhine-Westphalia

[edit]
Venue City Sports Capacity
Lohrheidestadion Bochum Athletics 16,223
Jahrhunderthalle Basketball (3x3, wheelchair 3x3) TBA
MSV-Arena Duisburg Opening ceremony 31,514
Landschaftspark Duisburg-Nord Closing ceremony 15,000
Wedau Rowing TBA
ASC Duisburg Aquatics (water polo) 5,000
Walter-Schädlich-Halle Basketball (preliminaries) 800
Sportpark Duisburg [de] Beach volleyball TBA
Messe Essen Essen Fencing (Hall 5)
Gymnastics (artistic (Hall 3), rhythmic (Hall 4))
Judo (Hall 4)
Taekwondo (Hall 6)
Table tennis (Hall 1) 		TBA (hall 1)
TBA (Hall 3)
TBA (Hall 4)
TBA (Hall 5)
TBA (Hall 6)
Grugahalle Basketball (finals) 7,700
Essen Tennis Club Tennis 5,000
Sporthalle Am Hallo Basketball (preliminaries) 2,500
Sportpark Am Hallo Stadion Archery (preliminaries) 3,800
Zollverein Coal Mine Industrial Complex Archery (finals) TBA
Ischelandhalle [de] Hagen Basketball (preliminaries) 3,145
Westenergie Sporthalle Mülheim Badminton 4,000

Berlin

[edit]
Venue City Sports Capacity
Europe SportPark Aquatics Centre Berlin Aquatics (swimming, diving) 4,200
Max-Schmeling-Halle Volleyball (preliminaries and finals) 9,200
Sportforum Hohenschönhausen Volleyball (preliminaries) 4,750
Großsporthalle Hämmerlingstraße [de] Volleyball (preliminaries) 1,000
Horst-Korber-Sportzentrum Volleyball (preliminaries) 3,500

The Games

[edit]

Sports

[edit]

In addition to the 15 compulsory sports, up to three optional sports can be chosen, while respecting the infrastructure and local demands. The organizing committee had proposed beach volleyball, rowing and 3x3 basketball, along with some Paralympic disciplines (which marks the first Summer World University Games to feature para-athletes and para-sport events, following its introduction at the 2025 Winter World University Games), as its optional sports.[27]

This will be the first time that 3x3 basketball will be part of the World University Summer Games program as one of the three optional sports, while beach volleyball returns since it was last held in 2013, while rowing remains after returning for the 2021 Summer World University Games. [28]

Schedule

[edit]
This is a tentative schedule and all times and dates use Central European Summer Time (UTC+2)[29]
OC Opening ceremony ● Event competitions 1 Event finals CC Closing ceremony
July 16
Wed 		17
Thu 		18
Fri 		19
Sat 		20
Sun 		21
Mon 		22
Tue 		23
Wed 		24
Thu 		25
Fri 		26
Sat 		27
Sun 		Events
Ceremonies OC CC
Aquatics
Diving 2 2 2 2 1 1 5 15
Swimming 3 5 7 5 6 7 9 42
Water polo ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● 2 2
Archery ● ● ● 6 4 10
Athletics 1 5 5 12 3 11 14 51
Badminton ● ● ● 1 ● ● ● ● 5 6
Basketball Basketball ● ● ● ● ● ● ● 1 1 2
3×3 basketball ● ● ● 2 2
Wheelchair 3x3 basketball ● ● ● 2 2
Fencing 2 2 2 2 2 2 12
Gymnastics
Artistic ● 1 1 2 10 14
Rhythmic ● 2 6 8
Judo 5 4 5 1 15
Rowing ● ● 11 11
Table tennis ● ● ● 2 ● 1 2 2 7
Taekwondo 3 2 4 4 4 4 3 24
Tennis ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● 5 2 7
Volleyball Beach ● ● ● ● ● 2 2
Indoor ● ● ● ● ● ● ● 1 1 2
Daily medal events 0 10 13 21 20 14 20 31 20 22 38 25 234
Cumulative total 0 10 23 44 64 78 98 129 149 171 209 234

Cultural Events

[edit]

Source:[30]

  1. 2025 FISU World Conference 17-19 July
  2. Beach Festival - Duisburg 21-27 July
  3. Non-Competition Sports 25-26 July
  4. Park Festival - Essen 21-26 July
  5. Ruhr Games Festival - Bochum 17-20 July

Participating NUSFs

[edit]

The following 113 National University Sporting Federations sent delegations to the 2025 Summer World University Games.[31]

Participating National University Sports Federations
  1.  Albania
  2.  Argentina
  3.  Armenia
  4.  Australia
  5.  Austria
  6.  Azerbaijan
  7.  Bangladesh
  8.  Belgium (67)
  9.  Bhutan
  10.  Bosnia and Herzegovina
  11.  Botswana
  12.  Brazil
  13.  Bulgaria
  14.  Burkina Faso
  15.  Burundi
  16.  Cambodia
  17.  Canada
  18.  Chile
  19.  China
  20.  Cameroon
  21.  Democratic Republic of the Congo
  22.  Colombia
  23.  Costa Rica
  24.  Croatia
  25.  Cyprus
  26.  Czech Republic
  27.  Denmark
  28.  Ecuador
  29.  Egypt
  30.  Estonia (53)
  31.  Ethiopia
  32.  Finland
  33.  France
  34.  The Gambia
  35.  Georgia
  36.  Germany (host)
  37.  Ghana
  38.  Great Britain
  39.  Guatemala
  40.  Guyana
  41.  Haiti
  42.  Honduras
  43.  Hong Kong
  44.  Hungary
  45.  India
  46.  Individual Neutral Athletes
  47.  Israel
  48.  Ireland
  49.  Italy
  50.  Jamaica
  51.  Japan
  52.  Kazakhstan
  53.  Kenya
  54.  Kyrgyzstan
  55.  South Korea
  56.  Kosovo
  57.  Laos
  58.  Latvia
  59.  Lebanon
  60.  Libya
  61.  Lithuania
  62.  Luxembourg
  63.  Macau
  64.  Malaysia (64)
  65.  Mali
  66.  Malta
  67.  Moldova
  68.  Mexico
  69.  Mongolia
  70.  Netherlands
  71.  Nepal
  72.  Nigeria
  73.  Norway
  74.  New Zealand
  75.  Oman
  76.  Pakistan
  77.  Paraguay
  78.  Philippines (31)
  79.  Poland
  80.  Portugal
  81.  Qatar
  82.  Romania
  83.  San Marino
  84.  São Tomé and Príncipe
  85.  Saudi Arabia
  86.  Senegal
  87.  Sierra Leone
  88.  Singapore
  89.  Slovakia
  90.  Slovenia
  91.  Somalia
  92.  South Africa
  93.  Spain
  94.  Sri Lanka
  95.  Sweden
  96.  Switzerland
  97.  Chinese Taipei
  98.  Tajikistan
  99.  Tanzania
  100.  Thailand
  101.  Trinidad and Tobago
  102.  Tunisia
  103.  Turkey (144)
  104.  Uganda
  105.  Ukraine
  106.  United Arab Emirates
  107.  United States
  108.  Uzbekistan
  109.  Venezuela
  110.  Vietnam
  111.  Virgin Islands
  112.  Zambia
  113.  Zimbabwe

Medal table

[edit]

[32]

  *   Host nation (Germany)

RankNationGoldSilverBronzeTotal
1 Japan34222783
2 China30271976
3 United States28272984
4 South Korea2192757
5 Italy14101943
6 Germany*11121740
– Individual Neutral Athletes88521
7 South Africa66820
8 Turkey65617
9 Chinese Taipei513725
10 Poland511824
11 Australia53412
12 Great Britain47617
13 Uzbekistan44715
14 Switzerland44412
15 Ukraine43512
16 Spain37616
17 France35917
18 Czech Republic32712
19 Lithuania3047
20 India25512
21 Thailand24410
22 Netherlands2428
23 Brazil23712
24 Azerbaijan2204
25 Canada21811
26 Hong Kong2147
27 Finland2136
28 Portugal2125
29 Moldova2002
30 Georgia1326
31 Kenya1225
32 Belgium1135
33 Norway1113
 Sweden1113
35 Ireland1102
36 Kazakhstan101011
37 Kyrgyzstan1012
 Slovakia1012
39 Armenia1001
 Denmark1001
 Israel1001
 Luxembourg1001
 Slovenia1001
44 Hungary0101020
45 Croatia0224
46 Tunisia0123
47 Malaysia0112
48 Egypt0101
 Kosovo0101
 Latvia0101
 Virgin Islands0101
52 Romania0055
53 Cyprus0022
 New Zealand0022
55 Austria0011
 Colombia0011
 Mexico0011
 Mongolia0011
Totals (58 entries)235234308777
Source: [33]

Concerns and controversies

[edit]

The games in the Rhine-Ruhr region of Germany, have faced some concerns and controversies.

Administrative errors by Indian officials

[edit]

On July 21, 2025, a controversy related to the Indian mixed badminton team became public. As 6 of the 12 players sent by the country were barred from the all events. This situation was a result of an error made during the Sports Technical Congress. Following this, the Association Indian Universities (AIU) announced that there had been a series of serious failures and suspended its vice president Baljiet Singh Sekhon and as consequence opened an investigation that resulted in the discovery of several flaws ranging from the athlete selection process to the national call-up for the Games.

In addition, the Indian delegation of the same sport also had problems with their uniforms that did not meet the standards required by FISU in which only the players' surnames should be written on their backs and not their full names. Another error on the same kits was in relation to the fact that there was no national symbol of India on their uniforms, which resulted in a fine of €1000 per game. The problem was only corrected a few minutes before the semi-final.[34][35]

Withdrawal of Iranian athletes

[edit]

Originally, the presence of an Iranian delegation was expected. However, due to issues with the athletes' visas, on 14 July 2025, the National Federation of University Sports of Iran officially announced its withdrawal from the event. Since there was not enough time to call up a new team for the men's volleyball tournament, the tournament proceeded with 15 participating teams.[36]

Chinese Taipei/Taiwan name medal controversy

[edit]

On 23 July, a scuffle broke out after the Chinese Taipei (Taiwan) team won the silver medal in the men's team Kyorugi.[37] Following the medal ceremony, a letter of congratulation from the Minister of Education was presented to the athletes by a Chinese Taipei team sports official, which drew the attention of two representatives from the China Student Sports Federation who tried to snatch the message. [38] Other Taiwanese sports officials intervene by formed a barrier around the group, leading to physical shoving and verbal confrontation between the two sides. Taiwan's President Lai Ching-te, Premier Cho Jung-tai, and major political parties, including the Kuomintang and Taiwan People's Party, all publicly condemned the actions of the Chinese delegation. [39] The director-general of the Chinese Taipei Sports Administration, Cheng Shih-chung emphasized that the message presentation was a legitimate expression in a democratic society and was not restricted by Olympic naming conventions.[37]

China's official media Xinhua News Agency issued a statement from the China Students Sports Federation in the early morning of July 25, pointing out that "Taiwan violated the Lausanne Agreement and the regulations of FISU", "Chinese official did not seize, but only verified Taiwan document", "Taiwan personnel took the lead in pushing, resulting in injuries to Chinese official", "FISU fully supported China's position and summoned the head of the Chinese Taipei delegation to stop the violation", accusing DPP of political manipulation for the Great Recall vote on July 26.[40]Similar behavior occurred later, but a non-Chinese official went to verify the letter.

Notes

[edit]
  1. ^ Swimming, diving and volleyball were held in Berlin.

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Sommer-Universiade Rhein-Ruhr 2025" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 6 May 2021. Retrieved 16 August 2021.
  2. ^ "Candidates for the 2021 and 2023 Universiades reach final stages". fisu.net. 5 January 2018. Archived from the original on 12 February 2023. Retrieved 17 August 2021.
  3. ^ "Universiades reach final stages". fisu.net. 5 January 2018. Archived from the original on 20 December 2017. Retrieved 17 August 2021.
  4. ^ "DOSB Mitgliederversammlung: Bundesinnenminister unterstützt die Bemühungen des adh um Universiade-Bewerbung". fisu.net (in German). 3 December 2018. Archived from the original on 19 August 2021. Retrieved 17 August 2021.
  5. ^ a b "German Summer Universiade in the pipeline for 2025". fisu.net. 24 April 2019. Archived from the original on 19 August 2021. Retrieved 17 August 2021.
  6. ^ "ADH-Delegation zu Gast bei der FISU". ADH (in German). 23 April 2019. Archived from the original on 19 August 2021. Retrieved 19 August 2021.
  7. ^ "ADH-Delegation zu Gast bei der FISU". ADH (in German). 23 April 2019. Archived from the original on 19 August 2021. Retrieved 19 August 2021.
  8. ^ "Sommer-Universiade Rhein-Ruhr 2025" (PDF) (in German). Archived (PDF) from the original on 19 August 2021. Retrieved 16 August 2021.
  9. ^ "PI: Sommer-Universiade 2025: HRK unterstützt adh-Initiative für Ausrichtung in Region Rhein-Ruhr". ADH. 25 November 2019. Archived from the original on 18 January 2021. Retrieved 19 August 2021.
  10. ^ "PI: Premier Inn exklusiver Hotelpartner des Allgemeinen Deutschen Hochschulsportverbands". ADH (in German). 22 January 2020. Archived from the original on 11 April 2021. Retrieved 19 August 2021.
  11. ^ "Düsseldorf unterstützt Bewerbung um die Universiade 2025 in NRW". Landeshauptstadt Dusseldorf (in German). 4 February 2021. Archived from the original on 5 February 2021. Retrieved 19 August 2021.
  12. ^ a b "Universiade 2025 - Vorab-Investition für den Traum von Olympia". WDR (in German). 29 September 2020. Archived from the original on 6 November 2020. Retrieved 6 November 2020.
  13. ^ "Nordrhein-Westfälischer Landtag unterstützt einstimmig die Sommer-Universiade 2025". ADH (in German). 12 October 2020. Archived from the original on 11 April 2021. Retrieved 19 August 2021.
  14. ^ "PI: Weiterer Meilenstein hin zur Sommer-Universiade 2025: Landesregierung Nordrhein-Westfalen und Bundesregierung unterstützen adh bei der Bewerbung". ADH. 29 September 2020. Archived from the original on 18 January 2021. Retrieved 19 August 2021.
  15. ^ "Candidature Rhine-Ruhr 2025 FISU World University Games" (PDF). ADH (in German). Archived from the original (PDF) on 3 August 2021. Retrieved 15 August 2021.
  16. ^ "Rhine-Ruhr 2025 FISU World University Games: Deutschland bewirbt sich um die Ausrichtung der weltweit größten Multisportveranstaltung nach den Olympischen und Paralympischen Spielen" (PDF). ADH (in German). Archived (PDF) from the original on 19 August 2021. Retrieved 14 August 2021.
  17. ^ "PI: Rhine-Ruhr 2025 FISU World University Games: Deutschland bewirbt sich um die Ausrichtung der weltweit größten Multisportveranstaltung nach den Olympischen und Paralympischen Spielen". ADH (in German). 16 March 2021. Archived from the original on 11 April 2021. Retrieved 17 August 2021.
  18. ^ "Rhine-Ruhr 2025 FISU World University Games: Gelungener Inspektionsbesuch des Internationalen Hochschulsportverbands FISU". ADH (in German). 10 May 2021. Archived from the original on 23 June 2021. Retrieved 17 August 2021.
  19. ^ "Deutschland ist Ausrichter der Rhine-Ruhr 2025 FISU World University Games". ADH (in German). 15 May 2021. Archived from the original on 19 August 2021. Retrieved 19 August 2021.
  20. ^ "Deutschland ist Ausrichter der Rhine-Ruhr 2025 FISU World University Games" (PDF). ADH. Archived (PDF) from the original on 19 August 2021. Retrieved 19 August 2021.
  21. ^ "Deutschland ist Ausrichter der Rhine-Ruhr 2025 FISU World University Games". BMI Deutschland (in German). 15 May 2021. Archived from the original on 19 August 2021. Retrieved 19 August 2021.
  22. ^ "NRW erhält Zuschlag für World University Games 2025". WDR. 16 May 2021. Archived from the original on 16 May 2021. Retrieved 17 August 2021.
  23. ^ "Rhine-Ruhr 2025 FISU World University Games". ProProjekt (in German). 21 June 2021. Archived from the original on 19 August 2021. Retrieved 19 August 2021.
  24. ^ "Rhine-Ruhr 2025 World University Games: Countdown begins". www.insidethegames.biz. 16 July 2024. Archived from the original on 20 July 2024.
  25. ^ "Rhine-Ruhr 2025 World University Games and Ber-LA 2026 HPEO Games: Planning for future begins". www.insidethegames.biz. 16 July 2024. Archived from the original on 5 June 2024.
  26. ^ "FISU World University Games 2025: Berlin to host additional venues for the Ber-LA 2026 HPEO Games' two-year countdown". www.insidethegames.biz. 2 September 2024. Archived from the original on 3 September 2024.
  27. ^ "Rhine-Ruhr 2025 Sports Program". Rhine-Rühr 2025. 9 August 2023. Archived from the original on 25 June 2024. Retrieved 9 August 2023.
  28. ^ "Rhine-Ruhr and Turin confirmed as 2025 World University Games hosts". www.insidethegames.biz. 15 May 2021. Archived from the original on 15 May 2021. Retrieved 29 August 2021.
  29. ^ "Schedule". rhineruhr2025.com. Archived from the original on 17 July 2025.
  30. ^ "Festivals". rhineruhr2025.com. Archived from the original on 15 July 2025.
  31. ^ "Delegations". rhineruhr2025.com. Archived from the original on 24 July 2025. Retrieved 18 July 2025.
  32. ^ "Medal Table". Rhine-Rühr 2025 Official Website. 25 July 2025. Retrieved 25 July 2025.
  33. ^ "Welcome to the FISU World University Games 2025". rhineruhr2025.com.
  34. ^ "'We demand justice': India's badminton stars cry foul; 6 players banned from competing due to admin disaster at World University Games". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 24 July 2025. Retrieved 24 July 2025.
  35. ^ "Six Indian badminton players barred from World University Games due to alleged administrative lapse". Press Trust of India. Archived from the original on 24 July 2025. Retrieved 24 July 2025.
  36. ^ "Cancellation of Iran's participation at the Universiade". www.tasnimnews.com (in Persian). Archived from the original on 15 July 2025. Retrieved 18 July 2025.
  37. ^ a b 中央通訊社 (24 July 2025). "世大運跆拳男團奪銀遭中國搶賀電 體育署批野蠻暴力[影] | 政治". 中央社 CNA (in Chinese). Retrieved 24 July 2025.
  38. ^ 蘇育宣 (23 July 2025). "德國世大運／中國兩度搶台灣賀電還施壓撤國旗 體育署長爆氣：請停止野蠻行為". 鏡週刊 Mirror Media (in Traditional Chinese). Retrieved 24 July 2025.
  39. ^ "Taiwan condemns China over harassment of athletes at Universiade - Focus Taiwan". Focus Taiwan - CNA English News. 24 July 2025. Retrieved 24 July 2025.
  40. ^ 新华社 (25 July 2025). "中国学生体育联合会：坚决反对民进党当局借体育谋"独"挑衅". 新华网 (in Chinese). Retrieved 25 July 2025.
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