Paris Saint-Germain Handball set for historic summer tour of Japan

During their stay in Tokyo, Paris Saint-Germain Handball will hold a number of training sessions at the Ajinomoto Training Center and will play two warm-up matches, on Tuesday 1 and Wednesday 2 August.

The matches will be held at the 12,000-capacity Ariake Arena. Providing the opposition for Raul Gonzalez’s side in the first of them is Zeekstar Tokyo, the club where Paris Saint-Germain legend Luc Abalo has spent the last two seasons. Paris Saint-Germain Handball’s opponents in the second match will be announced soon.

The tour will give the Paris players the chance to meet up with the club’s Japanese fans, find out about Japanese culture and take part in a series of initiatives promoting handball.

C'est historique, cet été le Paris Saint-Germain Handball sera au Japon pour sa tournée estivale #JapanTour2023 pic.twitter.com/7e4AsjVG5O

— PSG Handball (@psghand) March 29, 2023

The tour is part of a global plan for developing the sport in Japan and the national professional league.

A Japanese delegation travelled to Paris recently to make the partnership official. The visit saw Toshiaki Endo and Ryota Takeda – both members of Japan’s House of Representatives – join Makita Shimokawa, the Japanese Ambassador to France, and Zeekstar Sports Entertainment, Inc. CEO Tomoya Ohga in meeting with the players of Paris Saint-Germain Handball and Victoriano Melero, the club’s chief administrative officer.

This is Paris Saint-Germain Handball’s third international tour, following the Qatar tours of 2014 and 2015.

“We are delighted to see the Paris Saint-Germain Handball tour of Japan come to fruition and we cannot wait to be part of it. I would like to thank Zeekstar Tokyo and Future for this collaboration as part of our preparations for the 2023/24 season, which will allow us to discover Japanese culture and to meet up with the club’s supporters. This partnership is also a unique opportunity to promote handball in Japan and to boost the expansion of a sport that is attracting more and more players across the country.”

Thierry Omeyer, General Manager, Paris Saint-Germain Handball

"We are delighted to welcome one of the best handball team in the world, Paris Saint-Germain Handball, to Japan and to participate to the PSG Handball Japan Tour 2023 as a presenting partner. Together with Zeekstar Tokyo, we will apply the technology and creativity that Future Group has developed over the years to support this innovation tour for Japanese handball, providing an opportunity for a wider audience to discover the appeal of the sport."

M. Yasufumi Kanemaru, Chairman, President and Group CEO, Future Corporation