Full90 Sports, a maker of head protection for soccer players, today announced that it has entered into a comprehensive agreement with Japan-based Mitsui & Company, a $29b entity with over 170 offices worldwide. Under the agreement, Mitsui & Company made a strategic investment in Full90 Sports.
Mitsui will also serve as a manufacturer and exclusive master distributor for Asia, including China, Singapore, Korea, Japan, Hong Kong, and South Korea.
“We have tracked Full90's progress for almost two years, and are very pleased to utilize our global resources to expand Full90's market potential worldwide,” said Haruo Iwasaki, General Manager of Investment Business for the Lifestyle Business Unit, Mitsui & Co. A New FIFA funded study published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine concluded that Full90 Sports flagship product, the F90 Performance Headguard™, significantly reduced impact forces and the probability of concussion in certain instances, such as head-to-head impacts. There are approximately 200 million soccer players worldwide and 10 million in the US.
“We are pleased to enter this partnership with Mitsui & Company. It allows Full90 to dramatically increase our presence around the world,” said Jeff Skeen, CEO of Full90 Sports. “With the 2002 introduction of head protection in soccer, Full90 Sports has been widely seen as pioneering the use of soft padded head protection. We're happy that Mitsui is a believer in soccer headgear.”
The use of head protection is now becoming widely accepted as numerous medical studies indicate that concussions are just as prevalent as in other contact sports such as American football and hockey. Head protection is now being promoted by seven state youth soccer associations and mandated by numerous youth soccer clubs in the US. Eight players representing four countries wore Full90 Headguards in the Summer 2004 Olympics and many professional players around the world are wearing head protection.
