By Gary Anderson at the Grand Hotel Trento

December 22 - FISU President Claude-Louis Gallien wants to meet with IOC President Thomas Bach to discuss forming closer ties ©AFP/Getty ImagesClaude-Louis Gallien, President of the International University Sports Federation (FISU) has exclusively told insidethegames he wants a meeting with International Olympic Committee (IOC) leader Thomas Bach to discuss how both organisations can work more closely together.

Frenchman Gallien believes the way forward for FISU is to try to establish better links and greater cooperation with the IOC, the biggest sporting organisation in the world, claiming both governing bodies have much in common and can benefit from closer ties.

"We are trying to develop a new strategy because the world of sport is changing a lot," Gallien told insidethegames here.

"I want to be proactive.

"I want to be nearer the IOC.

"There is a new President and I will be planning to meet him in Sochi [at the 2014 Winter Olympics and Paralympics] and then again after the Winter Games.

"I have some proposals [to put to him] because I think we have the same origin because we believe in the Olympic spirit and education and sport.

"We are very complimentary in the domain of sport, youth and education.

"We [Universiades] are an intermediate between the Youth Olympic Games [YOG] and the Olympics.

"I would propose that we should look at how we can use our level of similarity at the level of athletes.

"Universiades contain high levels of performance and we can be a kind of filter for the Olympics."

Claude-Louis Gallien plans to meet with Thomas Bach when both men attend the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games next year ©Bongarts/Getty ImagesClaude-Louis Gallien plans to meet with Thomas Bach when both men attend the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games next year ©Bongarts/Getty Images


Gallien also claimed Universiades could be used as dry runs for cities with ambitions to launch bids to host future Olympic and Paralympic Games, saying that FISU and the IOC are "similar in terms of organising events".

"Bach has the same problems as me like developing good relationships with International Federations [IFs]," he added.

"I mean I know perfectly well that the IOC and FISU are on totally different scales but at least it could be interesting to discuss these things.

"We are similar too in that we organise big events.

"We organise two huge events every two years [Summer and Winter Universiades], while the IOC organises two massive events every four years.

"If you think that with our Universiades, we can be seen as a test event for Olympic bidding cities."

Read the full exclusive interview with Claude-Louis Gallien here.

Contact the writer of this story at [email protected]


Related Stories
December 2013: Cooperation is key as Universiade Movement moves forward, says FISU President Gallien
December 2013: Trentino 2013 praised by FISU President at Closing Ceremony