The International University Sports Federation (FISU) arose in university institutions to spread sporting values and promote athletics in synergy with the university spirit.

The first inter-university meets were held in the United States, England and Switzerland. They gradually evolved into university sports associations, the first of which was established in the United States in 1905.

The Olympic Movement, which had an international structure from 1894, was followed by the International Confederation of Students established in 1919. FISU was officially formed in 1949, but its origins go back to the 1920s when Frenchman Jean Petitjean organized the first World Student Games in Paris in May 1923.