MONACO: Ahead of the 2018 Laureus World Sports Awards, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc (MUFG), Japan’s largest lender, was annnounced as the renowned sports charity’s newest global partner.
Headquartered in Tokyo, MUFG is partnering Laureus as Japan prepares to host the 2019 Rugby World Cup and the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
MUFG has committed to support Laureus globally. With the backing of MUFG, Laureus Sport for Good will further support its existing roster of programmes, while using the organisation’s global presence to expand into more countries around the world. With the help of MUFG, Laureus Sport for Good will also increase activity in Japan, collaborating with organisations who use sport for social change.
New Laureus ambassador Ai Sugiyama was in Monaco to welcome MUFG to the Laureus family. Ai joins Japan and Borussia Dortmund football star Shinji Kagawa and seven-time Olympic medal winning artistic gymnast Kōhei Uchimura as the third Japanese member of Laureus.
Speaking after the announcement, Nobuyuki Hirano, president and Group CEO of MUFG, said: “The core values of MUFG sit perfectly alongside Laureus’ belief in the power of sport. One of our organisation’s goals is to contribute towards solving social issues in communities around the world and, in alignment with both Laureus’ goals and the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, we hope to contribute to education and employability efforts by leveraging ‘Sport for Good’. We are looking forward to joining Laureus in their mission to use sport to make a positive impact around the world.”
MUFG currently supports the Special Olympics Nippon Foundation, an international organisation that engages people with mental disabilities in sporting activity. Special Olympics is also a long-standing grantee of Laureus Sport for Good. MUFG also recently undertook a sports day in Dubai with SENSES, an organisation which uses sport to help young people with disabilities.
Sean Fitzpatrick, chairman of the Laureus World Sports Academy, said: “We are delighted to welcome world-renowned and well-respected financial Group MUFG as our newest global partner. The fact that they share the same belief in the value of sport, respect and sportsmanship as Laureus, makes them the perfect partner for our movement. Japan will be a sporting hub over the coming years, with both the Rugby World Cup and Olympic Games taking place in the country. We are looking forward to working with MUFG to help make a positive impact through sport during this exciting time.”
Laureus combines the Laureus World Sports Awards, Laureus Sport for Good and the Laureus World Sports Academy and ambassadors programme to form a unique organisation that uses the inspirational power of sport as a force for good. Laureus Sport for Good is the Laureus charity that uses sport to help young people around the world overcome violence, discrimination and disadvantage. Working with more than 100 programmes in 35 countries, Laureus Sport for Good believes that sport can change the world.
MUFG join Laureus’ global partners Mercedes-Benz and IWC Schaffhausen, and official partners Allianz and Mont Blanc.
