Dear friends,   As the year 2019 draws to an end, we are at the start of 2020, the beginning of a new decade.

The Federation has had a very good year in 2019, complete with the hosting of four championships - Karate, 3x3 Basketball, Badminton, Cheerleading - and two educational projects - 2^nd FISU-NUSF Seminar and two workshops during the Championships. Among the four Championships hosted, Karate and Badminton were inaugural events for AUSF, 3x3 Basketball was the qualifying tournament of FISU University World Cup, and Cheerleading was the preparatory event for the World University Cheerleading Championship 2020. Besides that, we are very proud to see that Jinjiang city of China has successfully hosted the 2019 FISU University World Cup – Football after hosting the AUSF Football Cup in 2018. Both Myongji University from Korea in the men’s category and College of Asian Scholars from Thailand in the women’s category qualified from the AUSF Football Cup in 2018 to enter the semi-finals of the 2019 FISU University World Cup – Football. These two Asian representatives finished with commendable bronze medals eventually. Over the years, our member federations have improved leaps and bounds in their ability to stage higher-level events and 2019 was no exception. The level of competition from the participating teams also amazed us with their excellent sporting performances.

What is more impressive is starting from 2019, the exciting moments of each AUSF event was fully covered and presented by our Media Committee, which was only set up at the beginning of 2019.They fulfilled their role not only in AUSF events, but also in FISU-NUSF Seminar themed “Media and Sports Development” that attracted almost 50 participants from Asia, Europe and Oceania engaging in the field of sports management and media. During the FISU Election in November in Turin, being one of the most dynamic and active continental federations, representatives from AUSF member federations won eight seats in the FISU Executive Committee, further strengthening the bond between FISU and AUSF.

Based on the achievements in 2019, we are very confident to embrace 2020 ahead. Next year, AUSF will continue to focus on building up the core values of its flagship events, on reviewing and updating its rules and regulations during the 2020 General Assembly to make them more current and relevant, and on generating more excitement and opportunities to enhance the development of university sports in Asia during the FISU-AUSF Strategic Dialogue in 2020.

AUSF belongs to all who care and support university sports. The achievement is commonly shared, but so must be the responsibility. I would like to take this opportunity on behalf of the AUSF Executive Committee members to express my sincere gratitude to all the stakeholders -the member federations, the universities, FISU, Continental Federations, Asian Sports Federations, KELME and other partners for their consistent involvement and strong support without which we cannot move forward. We are confident that together we can make the journey a successful one for everyone.

University Sport is always about the joy of life and confidence in the future. In this spirit of optimism and confidence, I wish you a Happy and Prosperous University Sports Year 2020!