Maribor was stripped of the hosting rights for the Universiade in March 2012 after FISU claimed it had no choice but to take the decision because of serious delays and the withdrawal of Government funding which threatened the event.

Trentino in northern Italy was chosen as Maribor's replacement and successfully staged the 26th Winter Universiade in December, which saw around 2,500 athletes from 50 countries taking part over 11 days of competition.

Maribor had been awarded the Games in 2008 but now city's officials have been ordered to pay a hefty compensation fee to FISU.

The 2013 Winter Universiade in Trentino was hailed as a huge success ©Trentino 2013 Winter Universiade/Pierre Teyssot


Reports claimed FISU were demanding €4.85 million (£4 million/$6.7 million) for the cancellation but Marko Zula, an official from the Maribor administration, has denied this and claimed both sides reached an out-of-court settlement for an undisclosed amount, much lower than this figure.

The budget for staging the Games had been set at around €33 million (£27 million/$45 million), with 30 per cent of this being funded by the Slovenian Government.

But a series of problems dogged Maribor's preparation, culminating in the resignation of the entire Organising Committee and this, coupled with the withdrawal of Government funding, led to the decision to hand the Games to Trentino.

Despite repeated attempts to get an official response from the governing body by insidethegames, FISU refused to comment on the compensation award.

Contact the writer of this story at [email protected]


Related Stories
March 2012: Trentino replaces Maribor as host of 2013 Winter Universiade