It's been 23 days since the opening of the Tokyo Olympics.
As a result of a questionnaire conducted by NHK to the competition organizations that participated in the competition, nearly half of the respondents answered that their income was "decreased" compared to before the competition, and many cited the withdrawal of sponsor companies and the termination of contracts. rice field.
At the crossroads of the competition, which has received a lot of support from its own country, the sports world is facing the challenge of continuing to strengthen its athletes.
"Income decrease" 44% compared to before the tournament
As it has been one year since the opening of the Tokyo Olympics, NHK conducted a questionnaire survey of 35 groups in 33 competitions that participated in the Games, and received responses from 34 groups.
When asked about the prospects for income in the 4th year of Reiwa, ▼ "decreased" was 44%,
▼ "unchanged" was 38%, and
▼ "increased " was
compared to before the Tokyo Olympics.
It was 12%.
Most of the organizations that answered "decreased" cited the termination or withdrawal of sponsorship contracts as a factor, and some said that the eight sponsor companies were halved.
With the termination / withdrawal of the sponsor's contract ...
In many cases, the contract was up to the Tokyo Games, but in some cases the contract could not be extended due to the deterioration of corporate performance due to the impact of the new Corona.
Due to the decrease in sponsors, some sports organizations are being forced to review their strengthening strategies, which is beginning to affect the environment in which athletes engage in competition.
How will the sports world, which is at a crossroads after the Tokyo Olympics, which achieved the record number of 58 medals won against the background of sponsors and national support at its own country, continue to strengthen its players? We are also facing challenges.
Achievements at the Wrestling Olympics Decrease in Sponsors
Wrestling, who won seven medals, including five gold medals at the Tokyo Olympics, responded that the number of sponsors decreased after the Games, despite the great achievements of the competition.
According to the Japan Wrestling Federation, the number of sponsors, which was 29 before the Olympics, has decreased to 24 this year, and three of them have signed new sponsorship contracts after the Olympics.
Because it was a tournament held in his own country, there were many sponsorship contracts up to the Tokyo Olympics, and Masahito Takahashi, the secretary general of the Japan Wrestling Federation, said, "I expected the sponsor income to decrease, so after the Tokyo Olympics I had already started to move on what to do. "
The decrease in sponsors is not expected to have a significant impact on the strengthening of top players so far, and the association is not considering changing its strengthening policy for the Paris tournament two years from now.
On the other hand, at the Tokyo Games, the wrestling venue became unattended, and the issue was that it did not lead to the expansion of the skirt, such as having children start a new competition with interest. It means that they are planning an event to go around and promote the competition.
Mr. Takahashi said, "Without the new coronavirus, it would have been" I'm glad I had the best results ever ", but it was also an opportunity to think about what sports should be as the audience becomes unattended and the values change. It's not an era where you only have to improve the results of the competition, so I want to strengthen the players and devise ways to spend money, and move on to new stages such as increasing awareness and popularizing the competition. "
Sailing pair yacht sold Sale facility sold
The environment of the pair of Anna Yamazaki and Sena Takano, who participated in the Tokyo Olympics by sailing, changed drastically after the contract with one sponsor ended after the tournament.
The "Women's 49er FX Class" sailing that two people work on is an event in which a two-seater yacht competes for speed while turning the buoys on the sea surface in a fixed number of times and in order.
In the Tokyo tournament, I was 18th in the qualifying and could not advance to the medal race, but I am planning to aim for the next Paris tournament with two people.
Until the Tokyo tournament, sponsors provided support for overseas expedition expenses, yachts used for games and practice, and training facilities.
However, when the contract expired after the tournament, the yacht offered was sold and the training facility was removed.
Yamazaki is personally supported by another sponsor, but her contract is up to this year.
In order to participate in overseas competitions, the two buy used yachts for 600,000 yen each and practice on yachts borrowed from people in Japan.
The annual activity cost is about 20 million yen, but this year, the two will only be able to receive subsidies for domestic training camps from competition groups, cover the cost of overseas expeditions at their own expense, reduce the number of expeditions and shorten the period, etc. , It means that the environment of the competition is affected.
Yamazaki says, "It's a tough situation because we don't have enough funds to go on the overseas expedition we want to go to."
The two have negotiated directly with about 50 companies by sending e-mails etc. to search for new sponsors, and also participated in a gathering of managers and asked for support, but so far no new sponsor has been found. Is not ...
Yamazaki said, "You can say that you want to support us, but there are many things that are difficult when it comes to specific financial support. If you sympathize with our journey toward the Paris Olympics and support us, please support us. I want to do it. It's difficult because there are times when I can't afford it, but I think this is also a process of growing stronger, so it's painful, but I want to do it while having fun. "
To the priority distribution of bicycle competition strengthening costs
After the Tokyo Olympics, the Japan Cycling Federation has decided to revise its strengthening policy in response to the significant decrease in income due to the termination of contracts with 3 out of 10 sponsors.
The federation has allocated sponsor income, national subsidies, and subsidies from JKA, which controls bicycle racing, for the cost of strengthening athletes, but this year it is expected to be about 250 million yen, which is 40% less than last year. ..
The reinforcement cost will be distributed to trucks and roads, BMX racing and freestyle parks, and mountain bikes, respectively, but this year, the federation will focus on about 100 million yen for the only track event that won the medal at the Tokyo Olympics. Decided to distribute to.
As a result, the training environment is affected, such as the teams to which the players belong cover part of the expedition costs on the road where the reinforcement costs have been reduced.
Masayuki Matsumura, chairman of the Japan Cycling Federation, said, "It was a really tough choice, but if you don't get a medal at the next Paris Olympics, you'll be saying,'What are you doing in cycling?' We have no choice but to specialize and strengthen it. "
Expert "Clear dichotomy The problem is widespread"
Professor Yoshiyuki Mano of the Waseda University Academy of Sport Sciences, who specializes in sports policy, commented on the business environment of sports organizations after the Tokyo Olympics. However, in sports that were not popular and did not perform well, the contract until the Tokyo Olympics was terminated and financial resources became insufficient. I think that such dichotomy has become clear. " increase.
On top of that, "Three things are connected: dissemination, strengthening, and financial resources. If you win, it will become popular and the competition population will increase, and if the competition population increases, you will get sponsors and you will have more money, and you can further strengthen it. The first thing to do is to disseminate the base of the competition organization. It is important to strengthen the promotion toward the Paris Olympics, but it is important not to neglect the dissemination. " He pointed out that the strategy should be developed from a long-term perspective.