After Brasilia, Brazil pulled out of hosting the 2019 Summer Universiade (World University Games) due to not being able to meet financial commitments, the bidding process for the international event was re-opened last year.
Flash forward to October 2015 when Secretary General/CEO of FISU, the international governing body for university sports, Eric Saintrond, visited Naples, Italy. At the time, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), essentially a non-legally-binding gentlemen’s agreement, was signed between Saintrond and Vincenzo de Luca, President of the Campania Region, which includes Naples.
Saintrond, along with FISU President Oleg Matytsin, made a second trip to Naples from January 12-14th, thus more formally confirming the region’s interest in bidding for the Games.
Italy has significant experience with the event, having hosted four previous Summer Universiades in 1959, 1970, 1975 and most recently in 1997. The nation also hosted 6 Winter Universiades in the years 1966, 1975, 1985, 2003, 2007 and 2013.
Naples is home to the University of Naples Federico II, one of the oldest institutions in continuous operation, having been founded in 1224.
“The Universiade in Naples could be a springboard for many social, sporting and cultural projects for the region to plan for the next five years,” said a FISU statement.
“It would give an opportunity to one of the most important Italian student communities to participate in the development of such a large project.”
Naples claims approximately one million constituents, with the broader Campania Region said to be home to nearly 6 million inhabitants.
The hosting decision for the 2019 Summer Universiade is expected to be confirmed later this year, however, besides Naples, no other replacement candidates have made themselves known thus far.
