UniSport to host qualifier for University World Cup – Football

UniSport Australia (“UniSport”) has today announced its flagship Nationals Div 1 event will serve as the Oceanic qualifier for the inaugural International University Sports Federation (FISU) University World Cup – Football in November 2019.

UniSport Nationals Div 1, presented by UniBank, unites thousands of university student-athletes from 43 universities across Australia annually.

The event attracts student-athletes, many of whom are of national-standard, to compete in 34 sports across Queensland’s iconic Gold Coast.

The winning men’s and women’s football teams from the 2018 Nationals Div 1 (22-27 September) will represent their university and FISU Oceania on the global stage at the FISU University World Cup – Football.

UniSport Chief Executive Officer Don Knapp said the pathway that UniSport Nationals creates for student-athletes to represent their university on the world stage presents significant opportunities.

“I encourage member universities to field their best student-athletes at the upcoming Nationals Div 1 for the best possible chance at securing the men’s and women’s football titles,” Don said.

“The university teams representing FISU Oceania will have an unprecedented opportunity to showcase their universities on the world stage, and link campus-based sport participation to the high performance sport pathway.”

FISU Oceania President Martin Doulton said it is an exciting opportunity for the best university teams to represent their university and FISU Oceania at the FISU University World Cup – Football.

“The UniSport Nationals Div 1 is a high-level tournament and we are looking forward to the winning teams being competitive when they attend the University World Cup event in China in 2019,” Martin said.

Held in Jinjiang, China, the FISU University World Cup – Football will be preceded by qualifying tournaments in Europe, Asia, the Americas, Africa, and Oceania.

Following the qualification events, 16 male and eight female universities – out of hundreds of participating teams – will progress to the University World Cup final.

UniSport is delighted to be running the competition where the winners of the football competition will qualify for a berth in the global finals.

About UniSport Australia

With origins from 1921 and a vision of ‘healthy, active, engaged and well-rounded

university students’, UniSport Australia is the nation’s peak body for university sport

and is comprised of 43 higher education members, who represent more than one million students. Living by our values of servant leadership, student experience, continuous improvement, collaboration, advocacy, and integrity, we deliver sport programs, elite athlete pathways, research and advocacy, education, and university sport sector capacity building. With funding from Government grants, corporate support, membership fees and event registrations, key relationships include Sport Australia, Universities Australia, the Australian Olympic Committee, Commonwealth Games Australia, the International University Sports Federation (FISU), and the International Olympic Committee