|
Español
-- Sponsorship deal is
viewed as a 'home run' for women's sport.
LAUSANNE,
Switzerland -- The world's governing body of baseball and softball,
the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC), announced today that
Japan's largest oil company, Tokyo-based JX Nippon Oil & Energy
Corp. (5020: Tokyo Stock Exchange), will have its leading brand, ENEOS,
named as the official title sponsor of the ENEOS Presents Women's
Baseball World Cup 2014. (See special event poster, photo and sponsor logo.)
The
ENEOS Presents Women's Baseball World Cup 2014 will be
held in Miyazaki, Japan, from 1-7 September, and will include
the women's baseball National Teams of Australia, Canada, Chinese
Taipei, Hong Kong, three-time defending champion -- Japan, Netherlands,
United States, and Venezuela.
The
sponsorship agreement includes cash remuneration, which will also place the
ENEOS brand on the logo of the premier women's baseball event in the world.
In addition, the Japanese oil giant will have a presence around the two
site venues in Miyazaki, as well as across the event's digital/web
platforms and in all of the WBSC's forthcoming communications and
announcements related to the event. The oil giant returns after being a key
sponsor of the III
Women's Baseball World Cup, which was held in Japan in 2008.
WBSC
officials are delighted that the ENEOS brand, which has several successful
partnerships across motor sports, including high-profile sponsorships for
Formula One and NASCAR racing teams, has expanded its portfolio to include
the ENEOS Presents Women's Baseball World Cup 2014.
The
addition of the Women's Baseball World Cup to the ENEOS stable of blue chip
sports sponsorship events also highlights the growing global community, and
commercial interest and participation of women in bat and ball sports
more generally, in softball as well as baseball.
"The
WBSC is very proud to have a partner such as JX Nippon Oil and Energy and
the ENEOS brand to support women's excellence in sport and to deliver the
best-ever Women's Baseball World Cup in Miyazaki," said the WBSC
President, Riccardo Fraccari.
"The
support and sponsorship of such an iconic Japanese brand has great
potential to further raise the profile and appeal of women's sport in the
eyes of other major brands and broadcasters. And, we are very
humbled to try to play whatever role we can to help increase opportunities
for women through WBSC's sport disciplines," said the WBSC president.
Commenting
on the sponsorship of the ENEOS Presents Women's Baseball World Cup 2014,
JX Group released the statement:
"Through
baseball, we will continue to do social development and support the growth
of the next generations."
JX
Group has a strong tradition of finding value in supporting baseball at the
national level in Japan. The Japanese oil giant continues to sponsor
initiatives that target people with disabilities, youth and women to
encourage them to play baseball and become empowered through the team
sport.
The
recently elected WBSC leadership has made it one of its chief priorities to
promote gender-equality and to provide more opportunities for girls and
women to be empowered through sports that women like to play, like
baseball-softball -- and to harness the skills and leadership of women
across all levels of WBSC's decision-making structure.
"The
WBSC shares and supports the Olympic Movement's focus on boosting the
number of women in sport, and we are working hard to promote the benefits
of sponsorship of women's sports in baseball and softball to major
companies in order to help achieve a sporting landscape that is more
relevant to women," said WBSC Secretary General Ms. Beng Choo Low, who
is also a member of the International Olympic Committee's (IOC) Women and
Sport Commission.
The
WBSC, along with other world sport governing bodies, is hoping for the
opportunity to be included in future Olympic Games, pending the outcome of
the Olympic Agenda 2020 review.
"It
would be the highest possible honour and privilege for baseball-softball to
serve under the Olympic umbrella, as an Olympic sport. This would
significantly boost and harmonise our efforts in relation to increasing
resources and opportunities to help more women and young girls participate
in sport, from the playground to the podium, and in administration and
coaching and other key sporting infrastructure roles."
|
