Nike and Naomi Osaka Champion Access to Sport for Girls With New Guide
Celebrating five years of Osaka’s “Play Academy” programme.
Driving global inclusivity, Nike, in partnership with Naomi Osaka‘s Play Academy — a program empowering women and girls to confidently shape their futures, has launched a groundbreaking, research-backed coaching guide in Japan. The guide is specially designed to help coaches break down the barriers that keep girls out of sports.
For centuries, women have been sidelined from the world of sports. But change is sweeping through the field, and the past decade has seen an incredible surge in professional women’s leagues and dedicated spaces for female athletes.
The response to Nike and Osaka’s project has been overwhelmingly positive. From the Yomiuri Giants professional baseball team to the Japan Basketball Association and other major Japanese organizations, the new guide is already being celebrated as a game-changer. “As a leading female baseball team in Japan, we believe in the importance of coaching development and training,” notes Toru Kunimatsu, representative director and president of the Yomiuri Giants, in a press release.
The guide addresses the often unseen barriers girls face in sports, providing them with a supportive and secure environment to thrive. But why focus on Japan? The answer is clear: Ranked 118th out of 146 countries in gender equality by the Global Gender Gap Report 2024, Japan still has significant strides to make.
“Japan holds a special place in Nike’s history, with a relationship spanning more than 50 years. In that time, we’ve witnessed incredible progress for women in sport, but we know girls still face barriers to participation,” shares Vanessa Garcia-Brito, VP and chief impact officer at Nike, in a recent press release.
In other sports news, read about Paralympic swimmer Núria Marqués as she discusses motivation and the journey to championships.
