LeQ'om, a sports food that supports lifelong athletes, Launched a co-creation project with EX.LEAGUE, a senior soccer league!

Okinawa Television Development Corporation (Head office: Naha City, Okinawa Prefecture; Representative Director: Naoya Ota), and EX. LEAGUE (for participants in their 40s and 50s) will launch a new co-creation project to promote "aggressive aging care" in the age of 100 years of life.

Specifics

In this project, a new model of collaboration will be established to support senior athletes by directly linking product purchases and league support. Specifically, a portion of the sales of "LeQ'om," a sports food product made from Okinawan yams sold through the EX.LEAGUE senior soccer league, will be used to fund the league's activities. The funds will be used to strengthen the league's management and to promote the nationwide soccer league in which middle-aged and older players can play an active role.

This system is a new model case that links the creation of sports opportunities, health, and mutual support while utilizing the value of local materials.

A system in which the purchase of products supports the challenges of middle-aged and older adults

Social significance of this initiative

LEAGUE, which is working to "solve social issues through sports" and Athlete Food LeQ'om, which utilizes functional ingredients derived from Okinawan yams, will co-create this project. LEAGUE and Athlete Food LeQ'om, which utilizes functional ingredients derived from Okinawan yams, will promote active aging (taking on challenges in one's own way even as one gets older) through a unique collaboration of "lifelong sports and local ingredients". This will not be limited to passive approaches such as "prevention" and "maintenance of the status quo," but will also encourage "lifelong athletes" who will continue to be physically and mentally active despite their advancing age. This project is a powerful presentation to society of a new style of "lifelong athlete" who embodies such a "proactive lifestyle.

Future Prospects

LEAGUE is currently held mainly in the Kanto region, but in the future we plan to expand it to other regions, such as Kansai and Kyushu, and to provide a "place to challenge" for middle-aged and older people to actively age through sports throughout Japan. In addition, JAPAN EX SPORTS ASSOCIATION, which is the operating body of the facility, emphasizes the value of the facility not only as a place to compete, but also as a "new place for socialization and connection" where people of the same generation can meet and interact with each other. The aim is not only to improve physical health, but also to create a connection with society. The co-creation with LeQ'om was based on a strong affinity with the philosophy of "supporting the challenge from the inside," backed by Okinawa's local materials and wisdom of health and longevity. LEAGUE's lifestyle of "not being restricted by age and continuing to move with one's friends," and the two companies will work together to promote initiatives that support not only athletics, but also the way of life itself.

Comment from Okinawa TV Development (development and sales of LeQ'om)

LeQ'om is an "athlete's food that supports challenges" that combines traditional Okinawan ingredients and scientific research results. We are very pleased to be able to develop this into a socially meaningful initiative that goes beyond the mere provision of a product.

JAPAN EX SPORTS ASSOCIATION commented

This collaboration is very meaningful from the perspective that the challenges of middle-aged and older people can energize society. I hope that this system will be an encouragement to those who continue to play sports, and that the circle of friends will expand throughout the country.

About LeQ'om

The Ryukyu yam (also known as the cougar yam) is a tropical yam that has been handed down in Okinawa since the days of the Ryukyu Kingdom. It was introduced that yams are the regular food of sprinters who are regarded as the fastest in the world at international sporting competitions, and Ryukyu yams came into the limelight because they are rich in a functional ingredient called diosgenin, which is the same ingredient. LeQ'om is an exercise supplement made from Ryukyu yams, and is a joint research product between Okinawa TV Development and Ritsumeikan University's College of Sports and Health Science. ( https://www.leqom.com/ )

About EX.LEAGUE

LEAGUE is a senior soccer league run by the JAPAN EX SPORTS ASSOCIATION for working adults, mainly in their 40s and 50s. The league provides a place where players who "will not give up the game because of age" and "want to try again" can get together and enjoy serious competition while nurturing their physical and mental health as well as their relationships with their peers. The league is currently active mainly in the Kanto region, with future plans to expand nationwide to the Kansai and Kyushu regions, and aims to build a social platform that supports a new way of life as a "lifelong athlete. ( https://kantoseniorspc.com/ )