Jörg Förster, adh board chairman, revealed last month they were holding talks with the Rhine-Ruhr City Olympic initiative, which is preparing an application for the 2032 Summer Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Förster revealed the discussions as the adh continued their search for a designated city.

Germany's candidacy now appears to have gathered pace, with the adh General Assembly voting 95.4 per cent in favour of a bid with the Rhine-Ruhr region.

"With this vote, the federation has underlined that it has recognised the prospects and opportunities for university sport in Germany arising from an application for the Summer Universiade," Förster said.

"The vote is a strong mark of confidence in the board and the branch office, as both have systematically pushed the process forward in a transparent way to keep all of our member universities on the same track over the last few months.

"Therefore, we can all celebrate this result, which gives us a vital momentum for the next steps."

Germany last held a Summer Unviersiade in 1989, when Duisburg stepped in for Sao Paulo to stage the 15th edition of the event.

A scaled-down version featured athletics, men's basketball, fencing and rowing, with 1,800 athletes representing 79 countries.

The adh will now focus on co-ordinating a financial plan with municipalities in the Rhine-Ruhr region, the state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the federal government.

"Adh is a federation that always deals critically and constructively with topics to enhance its higher education policy environment," Förster said.

"The feedback from our colleagues is therefore very valuable as we would like to shape the further process creatively together.

"We do look forward to the ideas of students and full-time staff.

"It became very clear that our member universities favour a sustainable Universiade concept, which should set new standards for major sports events and generate concrete added value for nationwide university sport."

Budapest is rivalling Germany for the right to stage the Summer Universiade.

Hungarian University Sports Federation secretary-general Mózes Székely has claimed hosting the 2025 Summer Universiade would come at the right time for the country, with venues completed and anniversaries set to be marked.

FISU President Oleg Matytsin has welcomed the strong interest from the two European nations.

"The strength of the international university sports movement is most evident at the Summer and Winter Universiades," he said.

"We are always looking forward to hosting this competition in world-class cities that deliver long-lasting legacies for the people of the city, region, and country.

"We know that whoever earns the 2025 Games candidacy will be an exceptional host."

FISU is seeking a firm offer before its Executive Board meeting in February.

Naples hosted this year's Summer Universiade, with the Chinese city Chengdu due to host the 2021 event.

Budapest will hope to succeed Yekaterinburg, as the Russian city will host the 2023 Summer Unviersiade.