Newsletter : Spreading Smiles through Sports and Clean Water --Blue Ties Partnership with Rugby Team Delivering Sporting Goods to Africa and Asia--

Yamaha Motor has partnered with the Shizuoka BlueRevs rugby club-a team competing in Japan's premier Japan Rugby League One-to run the Blue Ties program, which delivers sporting goods and apparel to villages in Africa and Asia. Shizuoka BlueRevs fans have been donating jerseys, shoes, balls, and other items at games for delivery to areas with a Yamaha Clean Water Supply System (YCW), a compact water purification system being installed in villages without clean or running water.

■Over 1,400 Sports Items Donated by Fans

"Even fans rooting for our opponents have come to us to donate jerseys and apparel. That made me very happy and I felt that our work was gaining greater awareness," says OKABE, Norihiko from Yamaha Motor's Overseas Market Development Division (OMDO). Yamaha Motor has been working with the Shizuoka BlueRevs rugby team that plays in the country's premier league to run a CSR program called "Blue Ties" since April 2023. Blue Ties asks BlueRevs fans at matches to donate sports items that they no longer use and then distributes them to small villages in Africa and Asia.

　Okabe's job is to promote greater use of our Yamaha Clean Water Supply System (YWC), a compact water purification system for villages lacking clean or running water supply. Since he often travels throughout the African continent, the items collected are hand-delivered by him and employees to people in communities with a YCW.

　Since the program started in 2023, a total of 1,410 (as of January 2025) articles of clothing, shoes, balls, and more have been donated by supportive fans. When Yamaha Motor employees visit areas to install, inspect, or conduct maintenance on YCWs, they make time to deliver the donated items to local residents, and current or former BlueRevs rugby players accompany them to hold rugby classes and other activities.

■Sharing the Happy Voices Heard with Japanese Fans

Last December, KIYOHARA, Sho and YOSHIZAWA, Fumihiro-two former BlueRevs players that are now Yamaha Motor employees-delivered the donated sports items gathered in Japan to three villages in Kenya. While rugby has become more popular in Kenya in recent years, Yoshizawa shares that he heard people usually practice using plastic bottles in place of balls. "In reality, there were many children chasing the ball barefoot or in sandals on an unmaintained field."
　Upon returning to Japan, the two collected more donations at the 2025 rugby season opener, but also explained with photos and videos how the items collected through the fans' goodwill and cooperation are used and appreciated by the recipients.

　Access to clean water is a serious issue and part of the UN's Sustainable Development Goals with SDG 6: Clean Water and Sanitation. Even today, it is estimated that some 2.2 billion people around the world live without access to safely managed drinking water services. "Doing sports and drinking water are inseparable," explains Okabe. "I hope that people will work up a sweat, eagerly gulp down clean water, and become more aware of the importance of having safe, potable water."
　So far, 55 YCWs have been installed, mainly in Asia and Africa. Asking Okabe for what he hopes to see in the future: "I would like to form a 'scrum' with BlueRevs to make sure this program grows and continues for a long time, so that villages with Yamaha Motor water purification systems have not just clean water but also sports and smiles."

Turning Clean Water into Smiles
https://youtu.be/GGFYCPyDhTU?si=88MbiCvt6cEPboXF

Clean Water Supply System
https://global.yamaha-motor.com/business/cw/





Kiyohara-san and Yoshizawa-san both went to Kenya last December to donate sports items and hold rugby classes for local youths. In interviews, they both spoke of how active the kids were as they exercised wearing the donated sportswear and shoes: "Even the beginners were bashing their bodies together! You could tell they were enjoying rugby." We're told that the duties of daily life in Kenya keep children so busy that they don't get much time for fun and recreation. So I hope that our Blue Ties program spreads further, so that necessary items reach those who need them and further enrich the lives of local residents.

MATSUO, Kaoru