Lalitpur, August 3

Nepal Olympic Committee today signed the agreements with Tamura City Government and Athlete Society of Tokyo with an aim of preparing for the 2020 Olympic Games.

NOC President Jeevan Ram Shrestha, Deputy Mayor of Tamura City Fukushima Naoyuki Kawagoishi and Secretary General of Athlete Society Soko Aoki exchanged the memorandum of understanding amidst a programme which was also attended by Japanese Ambassador to Nepal Masamichi Saigo.

As per the agreement, Tamura City Fukushima and Athlete Society will provide Nepali athletes with proper training and logistics to prepare for the Olympic Games to be held in Tokyo in 2020. To begin with, Yurika Nakamura of Athlete Society — the long distance runner who participated in the 2008 Beijing Olympics — will conduct a workshop for marathon runners and officials on Saturday. At least 10 marathon athletes will travel to Japan to prepare for the Olympics.

“This is a long-term deal which will help Nepali athletes perform better in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics Games,” said NOC President Shrestha. “Tamura City Fukushima will look after the funding part and Athlete Society will be taking care of the technical aspects of the training,” said Shrestha. “Apart from athletics, the two parties will also help other players to prepare for the Olympics,” he added. “Nepal and Japan have good relationship and we can strengthen it through this programme. The government of Japan has been always supportive towards Nepali sports and we would like to thank them for their generous support,” added Shrestha.

Deputy Mayor of Tamura City Fukushima Kawagoishi was happy to get the opportunity to work together with the NOC. As per the agreement, the three parties agreed to carry out Nepal’s track and field training camp in Tamura City, which will take care of the training facilities, accommodations and local transportation of the athletes.

The three parties agreed to mutually cooperate to enhance and support endeavor to support athletics in Nepal, endeavor to support participation in Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games by many Nepal athletes, continuously have close consultation and conclude agreement on how to support other athletic events in Nepal, and have sports and cultural exchange after 2018.