From March to November 2026, student-athletes from all over the world will compete in 22 different sports at the 2026 FISU World University Championships.

Competitions will take place in 19 countries across five continents (Europe, Asia, Africa, North America and South America).

Europe is hosting 11 Championships in 9 different countries (Italy, Sweden, France, Poland, Spain, Portugal, Switzerland, Hungary and Croatia).

The year is starting in a few days, on 14-15 March, when the best Cross Country students in the world will compete in Cassino, Italy, for the World University Championships Cross Country. For the next competition, we’ll need to wait almost a month: on 10-11 April, Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, will host the World University Championships Finswimming.

The competition schedule will get busier during the summer, starting from the beginning of June when World University Cheerleading Championships (Gothenburg, Sweden, 5-7 June) and World University Combat Sports Championships (Brasilia, Brazil, 8-13 June) will take the stage on opposite sides of the world.

At the end of June, the World University Championships in Handball will be held in Pessac, France, from 21 to 27 June. Almost at the same time, from 25-29 June, Zhangjiakou, China, will welcome the best student-cyclists of the world for the Cycling Championships. 

July will be another month packed with top-level university sport and competitions. From 1 to 7 July, Warsaw will host the World University Futsal Championships. Next, from 7-11 July, the World University Padel Championships will be held in Malaga, Spain. Towards the end of the month (22-26 July), World University Powerlifting Championships will take the stage in Sharjah, United Arab Emirates. July will close with the World University Orienteering Championships happening from 28 July to 1 August in Vila Real, Portugal.

August is the busiest month of 2026 for the FISU championships, with 5 different World University Championships being held across the world. From 3-9 August, Squash Championships will take place in Mumbai, India, overlapping with Triathlon Championships, held on 8-9 August in Nyon, Switzerland. Around the middle of the month, three more World University Championships will happen: Rowing Championships, from 13-15 August in London, Canada; Modern Pentathlon Championships, from 16-19 August in Madrid, Spain; Canoe Sports Championships, from 17-20 August in Sukoro, Hungary.

The world’s best Rugby Sevens student-athletes will compete in Stellenbosch, South Africa, from 4 to 6 September to win the title of World University Rugby Sevens Champions. Next, there will be the World University Weightlifting Championships in Doha, Qatar, from 8 to 12 September. From 17 to 22 September, Figueira da Foz, Portugal, will be the home of Beach Sports with university teams competing in Beach Volleyball, Beach Soccer, Beach Handball, and Beach Wrestling World University Championships.

World University Sailing Championships will take place in Split, Croatia, from 28 September to 2 October, opening another month full of university competitions. In October, the World University Championships of Mind Sports and of Shooting Sports will happen. The first ones will take place in Liaocheng, China, from 11 to 16 October, and the second ones will be held in New Taipei, Chinese Taipei, from 27 to 31 October.

The 2026 FISU Championships year will finish with one last World University Championships, when Golf competitions will take place in Bangkok, Thailand, from 11 to 14 November.

For more information, please see: fisu.net