The international governing body for the sport of athletics, the World Athletics (WA) has developed a two-year sponsorship deal with the Japanese food manufacturing company, Morinaga.
As part of the deal, the brand has been named the global supporter of World Athletics and its World Athletics Series events.
Having been in operation for over a century, Morinaga was founded in 1899 with the goal of fulfilling its mission of giving Japan’s citizens access to wholesome and delectable confections for everyday use.
The arrangement, which runs from 2024 to 2025, will include the 2025 World Athletics Championships in Japan. Morinaga will do everything in its power to boost athletics in Japan and beyond as a global supporter of World Athletics.
World Athletics President Sebastian Coe, said, “We are excited to be entering in a sponsorship agreement with Morinaga, especially ahead of our World Athletics Championships Tokyo 25 which take place in the Japanese capital next year. Morinaga is a great partner for World Athletics as its energy products can benefit athletes during their gruelling training regimes and our fans will be able to enjoy their confectionary products as they watch and enjoy the world’s No.1 Olympic sport.”
Hideki Matsunaga, Director and Senior Executive Officer of Morinaga, said, “We are grateful to World Athletics for this wonderful opportunity. The World Athletics Championships is an opportunity for athletes, officials and supporters from many countries around the world to come together in celebration of sport. We hope that they will be able to learn about and appreciate the sports nutrition knowledge we have cultivated over the years and used to create the nutritional supplements and snacks born in Japan.”
Speaking of multi-year contracts, WA also signed a three-year sponsorship agreement with Sony in January, which will run its course in 2026. Sony will support all World Athletics Series events under this agreement, starting in March with the WA Indoor Championships in Glasgow. The agreement also includes the 2025 WA Championships.