Officials will discuss preparations for three FISU-related official events to be held this autumn – the FISU Executive Committee Meeting, FISU Extraordinary General Assembly and FISU Gala.

Among those attending the first session alongside Saintrond (pictured top, centre) are the President of the Republic of Tatarstan Rustam Minnikhanov; the Mayor of Kazan, Ilsur Metshin; Tatarstan's Minister of Youth Affairs, Sports and Tourism Rafis Burganov; Minister of Construction, Architecture and Housing of the Republic of Tatarstan Irek Fayzullin; director general of the Kazan 2013 Executive Directorate Vladimir Leonov; FISU first vice-president and Russian Student Sports Union (RSSU) President Oleg Matytsin (pictured top, left); and FISU director for the Summer Universiade Marc Vandenplas (pictured top, right).

Some 13,000 athletes from over 170 countries will take part in the Universiade in September next year.

Other topics up for discussion this week include broadcasting rights and formulating a programme of events in the build-up to an event that heralds of the start of an unprecedented five-year international sporting jamboree for Russia highlighted by the Sochi Winter Olympics and Paralympics in 2014 and the FIFA World Cup four years later.

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