Japanese Olympic Committee sign partnership agreement with National Olympic Committee of Costa Rica in Tokyo

Costa Rican NOC President Henry Nuñez met with Japanese Olympic Committee President Tsunekazu Takeda to sign the agreement ©Aflo Sport

A partnership agreement has been signed between the Japanese Olympic Committee (JOC) and the National Olympic Committee (NOC) of Costa Rica today at the JOC headquarters here.

Henry Nuñez, head of the Costa Rican NOC, was hosted by JOC President and International Olympic Committee (IOC) member Tsunekazu Takeda, JOC vice-president and secretary general Tsuyoshi Aoki, and senior Executive Board member Yasuo Saito.

Under the agreement, both parties will endeavour to allow their athletes, coaches, support officials and staff to have the opportunity to take part in exchange programmes between the two nations, while they will also transfer marketing information to each other.

Additionally, the two organisations will also strive to deliver best practice in the fight against doping, as they will promote anti-doping activities and share information as they aim to create a cleaner and fair sport.

Nuñez, who represented Costa Rica at the Seoul 1988 and Atlanta 1996 Olympic Games in judo, believes the agreement will benefit his country enormously, as they target winning their fifth Olympic medal.

The Poll sisters, Claudia and Silvia, have earned all of Costa Rica's Olympic medals to date ©AFP/Getty Images

“We are currently working very hard on the training of our coaches and the preparation of our athletes, as well as investment in skills of our sport leaders and sport science professionals,” Nuñez told students who are taking part in the Tsukuba International Academy for Sport Studies short programme.

“Our next Olympic dream is to win a fifth or a sixth Olympic medal, and we want to make it come true at the Games in Tokyo 2020.

“Despite the distance between Costa Rica and Japan, we have eight years of excellent diplomatic relations and Japan has helped us in the past with coaches and sport equipment.

“This is why through the Sport for Tomorrow programme, we believe, Japan will help us achieve our next sporting goal, as it will help our country develop sports on a technical level and provide knowledge for our future sport leaders.”

Sport for Tomorrow was established by the Japanese Government following Tokyo being awarded the 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games and aims to promote sport and other assistance to developing nations.

The initiative also attempts to train the next generation of sports leaders, through courses such as the TIAS short programme, while attempting to protect and promoting values of sport by extending anti-doping initiatives.

Japan are aiming to benefit 10 million people in over 100 countries by the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympics and following the partnership with Costa Rica, they now have signed agreements with 32 NOC’s to date.