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Naomi Osaka launches initiative to boost girls' sports participation in Tokyo

Naomi Osaka launches initiative to boost sport participation among girls in Tokyo - LAUREAS SPORT
Naomi Osaka launches initiative to boost sport participation among girls in Tokyo - LAUREAS SPORT

Naomi Osaka has launched an initiative to help boost girls' participation in sport throughout Tokyo, less than a year until the city hosts the postponed Olympic Games.

The Japanese capital has some of the highest global rates of girls dropping out of sport, with girls twice more likely than boys to stop being physically active by the age of 15.

Osaka has unveiled Play Academy, a scheme to accelerate the focus on providing more opportunities for girls and help them stay active through fun, positive sporting experiences led by coaches who are trained in gender inclusivity.

“I picked up a tennis racket for the first time when I was three years old, and it changed my life,” said two-time major champion Osaka, who was born in Tokyo to a Japanese mother and a Haitian father and named as the world's highest paid sportswoman earlier this year.

“But I know that not every girl has the same opportunities that I’ve had. Around the world, girls drop out of sports at twice the rate of boys – and some girls, especially girls from underrepresented communities – never even get a chance in the first place and I want to do something about it.”

The initiative, run in partnership with Nike and Laureus Sport for Good, will provide grants to community organisations in Japan which use physical activity and sport to help improve the lives of girls.

“Our vision is to help level the playing field by changing the game for girls – starting in Tokyo, a city that means a lot to my family and me,” added Osaka, who won the Laureus World Breakthrough of the Year Award last year.

“I believe in the power of sport to create bigger change, and I’m passionate about inspiring the next generation of female athletes.”

Speaking about Play Academy, Adam Fraser, the chief executive of Laureus Sport for Good Global, said: “Helping to facilitate the power of athletes to inspire children and young people to change the world for the better is at the core of Laureus’ work.

“This initiative, championed by a role model like Naomi, will provide new opportunities for girls in Tokyo to benefit from sport and will support our ambition to contribute to girls’ and womens’ equal participation and leadership.”