Seibu Lions to sponsor international competition in Cambodia
The Japan Times, Dec 8, 2016
The Seibu Lions will sponsor an international exhibition baseball competition scheduled in Cambodia this weekend in the first such attempt by a Nippon Professional Baseball team, the Pacific League club announced Thursday.
The Lions, who have been donating baseball goods from their players and fans since 2013 to help promote the sport abroad, will support Asian Baseball Match involving the national squads and under-15 teams of Cambodia, Malaysia, India and Vietnam over three days starting Friday at CBAF Baseball Park in Kampong Thom province.
“We have been providing support so far in the form of delivering baseball goods, but this time we will offer an opportunity to use those goods through supporting the competition,” said Hajime Igo, president of the Lions.
“Baseball/softball became an official event at the (2020) Tokyo Olympics, and I hope this friendly competition will be successful as the first step toward enabling many Asian countries to perform well in international competitions.”
