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MIKASA AND CEV EXTEND THEIR PARTNERSHIP FOR ANOTHER FOUR YEARS

Antalya, Turkey, October 24, 2014. The European Volleyball Confederation and Mikasa Corporation announced on Friday the extension of their partnership for another four years, up to 2020. This way the governing body for Volleyball in Europe and the Japanese leading manufacturer will continue their cooperation for the good of the sport for another four years. The agreement was signed on Friday in a special ceremony proceeding the dinner offered by Mikasa to all delegates attending the XXXV CEV General Assembly in Antalya, Turkey.           

“Mikasa is a long-term partner of our Volleyball family and we are pleased with the extension of our partnership for another four years,” CEV President André Meyer said. “This agreement follows a couple of milestones which have marked the last few months of our cooperation. I would start by recalling that he innovative MVA200CEV, the very first volleyball specifically designed for a continental competition, was officially unveiled last June at the European Volleyball Gala. In about ten days this ball will turn into one of the trademarks of the 2015 CEV DenizBank Volleyball Champions League and with its innovative look and feel it will help us spread the message of our “Green Way” campaign. Mikasa has been at our side from the very beginning of this action supporting our efforts as we continue to strive for innovation and excellence.”

The extended cooperation with Mikasa will also include the organisation of the CEV Beach Volleyball Summer Festivals with 13 events that were held this summer and more to come in the near future. “Mikasa is the partner everyone would wish to have as they help us raise the profile of Volleyball and Beach Volleyball to new heights when it comes to elite sport but at the same time they also share our attention and concern for their development at the grass-roots level, with a primary focus on those countries where there is still much room for improvement. We will continue to work hard and together will pursue another era of success for our sport,” the CEV President added.

“Mikasa Corporation is extremely honoured with the extension of our partnership with the CEV and with the opportunity to support their Volleyball and Beach Volleyball events as well as the long-term growth of the sport in Europe by providing everyone involved with the right products to play Volleyball and Beach Volleyball,” Daisuke Akiyama, Mikasa General Manager & Corporate Officer said.
“To further grow Volleyball and Beach Volleyball in Europe, Mikasa would like to use this opportunity to start liaising with National Federations from countries where we do not have any distributors yet, with a focus on our kids Volleyball programme, which is based on our innovative SKV5 volleyball, which has been designed specifically for kids and to accompany their first steps into the sport. Of course we would like to do the same also with our current distributors and their respective National Federations so that everyone involved in the sport will eventually join this action. We are convinced that this approach which goes straight at the grass-roots level will help us lay the foundations for a long-term growth and development of Volleyball in Europe. Together with the CEV we will continue to work hard and strive for more excellence,” Mr Akiyama concluded.

Foto Cev: Andrè Meyer (CEV) and Daisuke Akiyama (MIKASA)