The newly-elected Governor of the Federal District of Brasilia, Rodrigo Rollemberg, informed FISU President Claude-Louis Gallien that the Brazilian capital would not be in a position to meet its financial commitments within the time-frame set by the governing body.

A decision was therefore taken to waive the city's rights on the organisation of the Summer Universiade, with yet-to-be-specified alternatives having reportedly already emerged.

Brazil's Sports Minister George Hilton and the President of the Brazilian Confederation of University Sports (CBDU), Luciano Cabral, have "conveyed their joint commitment to take all the necessary steps in order to try to keep the 30th [Summer] Universiade in Brazil", suggesting the Games could still possibly take place there.

"Some candidates have already expressed their interest in hosting the Games," read a statement from the FISU.

"In its turn, the CBDU is working with the Ministry of Sport of Brazil to find an alternative to the city of Brasilia.

"As to the other consequences of Brasilia's decision, FISU will discuss the matter with all interested parties in Brazil, in order to find a satisfactory solution."

President of the FISU, Claude Louis Gallien (pictured), was informed by the newly-elected Governor of the Federal District of Brasilia, Rodrigo Rollemberg, that the Brazilian capital would not be hosting the 2019 Summer Universiade as planned ©Getty Images



Hélio Doyle, the Federal District of Brasilia's chief of staff and transition coordinator, claimed Rollemberg had deemed it "too risky" to honour the Government's agreement to contribute approximately $28 million (£18 million/€23 million) towards the Universiade, which was estimated to cost $876 million (£572 million/€730 million) in total.

Brasilia was chosen to host the event in November 2013 at a time when there had been a backlash in the country at the price of staging the 2014 FIFA World Cup and the Rio 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

The city received votes from all 23 members of the FISU after rivals Baku and Budapest dropped out of the race in the build up to final decision, which was made in Brussels.

The Games were set to be staged in Brazil for the first time since 1963, when they took place in Porto Alegre, and it was expected they would attract nearly 11,000 athletes from 150 countries, competing in 27 sports.

It was proposed that 22 competition venues would be built in the host city, along with an Athletes' Village comprising of 2,400 apartments for foreign delegations.

The Claudio Coutinho Gymnasium and the University of Brasilia's Olympic Centre were also both due to be redeveloped as part of the plan.

This year's Summer Universiade in Gwangju, South Korea is due to take place from July 3 to 14, while the 2017 edition is scheduled to be held in Taipei, Taiwan, from August 19 to 30.

The most recent edition was staged in Kazan, Russia in 2013. 

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