Meiji Yasuda Renews J.League COVID-Activated Title Sponsorship

Japan’s football league body – the J.League – has scored a “special sponsorship” with current title sponsor Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Company in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The new deal, from June 2020 to December 2021, will see the insurance brand work together with the league and clubs to promote health and help revitalise communities affected by the pandemic.

Meiji Yasuda has been the league’s title sponsor since 2015 and, in that time, has also signed individual sponsorship agreements with all 56 professional clubs via the company’s regional offices to engage in a variety of community activities.

The company said it aims to contribute to an environment where the J.League and the clubs can focus on their preparations to resume following the suspension of the top two divisions on February 26, less than a week after the season’s launch.

The top-tier league is set to resume on July 4 while J2 and J3 matches kick off a week earlier on June 27. As a safety measure to prevent the spread of the virus, matches will initially take place behind closed doors. The league will continue to monitor the situation before making further decisions on when to begin admitting fans to games. Among other safety measures, the league will limit travel between regions by initially scheduling matches featuring teams from the same prefecture.

It will also conduct polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests on all players, staff and match officials before the restart and re-test them at two-week intervals. This will involve testing around 2,400 individuals.