Other Sports

Sponsors for 2025 World Athletics Championships in Tokyo to Be Directly Secured; Organizers Seeking Transparency and Fairness

Yomiuri Shimbun file photo
Japanese athletes hold a flag at a handover ceremony during the closing ceremony of the World Athletics Championships in Budapest on Aug. 27.

The Yomiuri Shimbun

16:30 JST, December 27, 2023

The operating foundation for the 2025 World Athletics Championships to be held in Tokyo has drawn up plans for securing sponsors through public solicitation and bidding.

In the wake of the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics corruption scandal, the foundation will find sponsors on its own rather than through advertising companies.

“As far as we know, there have been no such cases in which [major] events have adopted such a method [to find sponsors],” said Takashi Takeichi, secretary general of the foundation that held a board meeting in Tokyo on Tuesday. “We will have to find our own way, but we intend to give priority to transparency and fairness.”

The financial plans approved on the day estimate that the 2025 World Athletics Championships will earn a total revenue of ¥15 billion, of which the target for sponsorships and donations is set at ¥3 billion. The foundation will start public solicitation for sponsorships in January. One company per sector will be selected through a bidding process.

The foundation is also seeking ¥8 billion in financial support from the Tokyo metropolitan government and the central government.