North Rhine-Westphalia is set to stage the 2025 FISU event and had attention turn to it following a ceremonial handover of the flag from Chengdu, which hosted the most recent edition in July and August this year.

The region's State Secretary for Sport and Volunteering Andrea Milz and Chairman of the Sports Committee Bernhard Hoppe-Biermeyer received the flag in the event in Germany.

"I am already looking forward to our role as host in the number one sports state," said Milz.

"North Rhine-Westphalia has shown that it is the best address for top-class international competitions.

"We look forward to welcoming young athletes from all over the world to the Rhine-Ruhr 2025 FISU World University Games at the Rhine and Ruhr.

"North Rhine-Westphalia offers outstanding conditions for students with sporting ambitions: universities that broadly endorse sports, a sports infrastructure that does not have to be newly constructed, but is already there.

"A sports-mad and world-minded public and a unique combination of sport and culture that will make the World University Games 2025 an outstanding experience."

In North-Rhine Westphalia, nearly 12 million do sport regularly and almost five million belong to one of the 18,000 sports clubs.

The state boasts three Olympic-standard training centres that serve more than 1,000 professional athletes and 10 stadiums with more 25,000 seats. 

Rhine-Ruhr 2025 would be the second time that the Games have taken place in Germany following Duisburg 1989, when the country was known as West Germany.

Bochum, Duisburg, Düsseldorf, Essen and Mülheim an der Ruhr have been chosen as the five hosts cities of the Games, scheduled to take place from July 16 to 27 in 2025.