University sport is rarely the focus of the public, since it is neither transferred by large media nor are stadiums filled with it. However, unusual attention is granted to university sports every four years – at the World University Games of the International University Sports Association (FISU).
8,500 athletes from all over the world will be guests in the Rhein-Ruhr region from mid-July and partly in Berlin. Medals are distributed in 18 sports. The parties of the mini-Olympia involved, the Federal Ministry of the Interior, are happy to speak of a “lighthouse for the Federal Republic’s republic in the organization of great sporting events”.
But the light of this “lighthouse” throws long shadows, as a research by the DLF and the SZ shows. Not only is the budget, to which the organizational committee does not provide any information on request, has grown over the years from 113 to 160 million euros – the FAZ even reported on an impending increase to 225 million euros last year. The subsidies from tax money are immense: The federal government and the state of North Rhine-Westphalia apply 67.5 million euros each, the state of North Rhine-Westphalia pays another 44 million euros for the renovation of sports facilities.
Tender is subsequently tailored to applicants
And when distributing this money, the organization committee led by the organizational committee around Niklas Börger.
In the event of a tender for the technical systems such as time and width measurements, scoreboards and the creation of graphics, the French company ATOS initially submitted the cheapest offer. ATOS was responsible for the IT at the Olympic Games for many years to Paris in 2024.
However, according to DLF information, ATOS did not fulfill the tender criteria at the time. They said that the technology should be operational three days before the first competition day of the sports-but the ATOS offer only pretended two days with several disciplines. Accordingly, ATOS was out of the question for a surcharge. Startservice GmbH from Leipzig should first get the order.
But that didn’t happen. A few weeks later, the organization team rewritten the order as a venue due to the withdrawal of Düsseldorf and adapted the requirements. These then fit pretty well on the ATOS offer. Suddenly it was requested that the systems only had to “be ready for use at least two days before the first planned competition day”. In addition, the upper supply price was lowered-to 2.8 million euros. A limit that had only undercut ATOS from all providers in the first round. Shortly afterwards, Atos was awarded the contract.
Organizers first deny and then clear
First, on DLF request, the organizers contested the changes in the deployment times of the technical systems. Only on another confrontation did they admit that the deployment time of three to two days was reduced. This was “in the course of the conceptual realignment of the overall event”. Upon request, the ATOS company pointed out that questions about the tendering process could only answer the organizers.
Legal dispute in front of the Rhineland award chamber
In another case, the awarding practice of the organizational committee even landed in front of the Rhineland awarding chamber. It was about the decoration in competition locations, signs and advertising posters. Five area clusters were awarded. Order value: a maximum of 1.5 million euros.
In mid-January 2025, the German branch of the US company Wasserman was awarded the contract. A company that, like ATOS, has been doing business in the Olympic environment for a long time.
A inferior German company then complained to the Rhein-Ruhr organization committee. In fact, the ratings were partially adjusted afterwards. Documents available to the DLF show that at least three of the five venues of the losers had made a cheaper offer. However, the contract was denied that the organizers calculated defects in the criteria “Quality of Material Printing” and “Sustainability of the provision of services”.
Because the price differences had only been at low single-digit percentages, it was important to the evaluation in the two non-priced scales, the organizers justified their decision on the DLF request.
Did the Federation and Land NRW threaten to withdraw funds?
In early 2025, the inferior company moved to the Rhineland and the state of North Rhine -Westphalia with a comparison proposal in front of the Rhineland awarding chamber. But the State Chancellery NRW said that one did not interfere.
But this does not fit the decision of the award chamber. There, the judges cite a brief by the Rhein-Ruhr organizers: they could not accept the company’s comparison proposal, since he was “obviously contrary to dismissal”. And further: “This assessment would also have shared and promised the funding providers (BUND and Land NRW) on concrete demand, and in the prospect of significantly reducing the funding in the event of acceptance of the comparison offer.”
On DLF request, whether withdrawal of funding was threatened, the main sentence of the Federal Ministry of the Interior and the Düsseldorf State Chancellery was: Neither was involved in awarding processes, nor had it been involved in the legal dispute.
Especially because of the time pressure, the awarding chamber allowed the premature surcharge to the Wassman company at the end of April without a precise examination, but stated that the organizers were “inferior to a misjudgment in some aspects”. The Wasserman company did not want to comment on request.
Social media agency Brinker & Lück gets a big look
A third company that has been doing business in the Olympic environment for a long time also benefited from similar processes: Brinkert & Lück. A communication agency that is partner of the German Olympic team. A former agency employee now heads the German Olympic application.
According to DLF information in the area of social media, services for the World University Games 2025 were agreed for a total of almost 220,000 euros. When considering the various social media channels, the monthly effort is not exactly overwhelming. Nevertheless, in November 2024 after DLF research, the agency got a lookout of around 38,000 euros for adapting the communication strategy-because of the exit from Düsseldorf as an organizer and the relocation of some competitions to Berlin.
Once again, the organization committee initially denied that this invoice exists. The organizers only admit it at a new request: “Due to the conceptual realignment of the event”, there was a changed performance requirement that the order was expanded in November 2024 – 32,000 euros net, i.e. EUR 38,080 gross. They do not answer exactly what the agency did.
Brinkert & Lück explained: “The fact that you adapt to contractual details on both sides in the course of the process is a lived practice. Especially when there are additional expenses due to changed framework conditions.”
Sports policy country NRW with remarkable prominence
North Rhine-Westphalia plays a remarkable role in sports policy. Many influential people in sports come from North Rhine-Westphalia, such as the designated DOSB CEO Otto Fricke, DFB President Bernd Neuendorf to Michael Mronz, Presidium member in the DOSB and one of two German members in the International Olympic Committee.
Because of this network, the Rhein-Ruhr region also hopes for a success in the fight against the national Olympic competitors from Munich, Hamburg and Berlin/ Leipzig. But now there is an event in NRW, which is questionable whether it is really suitable as an Olympic application.