Mizuno Becomes The Latest Sportswear Behemoth To Launch NFTs

Mizuno, a Japanese sports gear manufacturing giant, is the latest to jump on the NFT bandwagon. The company is set to release its first line of non-fungible tokens that will cover the three major sports it is involved in: football (soccer), judo, and athletics.

To bring forth the NFTs, Mizuno partnered with Ryokke Draw, a digital artist, to create the artworks. Some of these feature representations of several Japanese champion judo practitioners, such as Naohisa Takafuji and Hifumi Ame.

Mizuno is one of the top manufacturers of judo gear in the world. The company supplies sportswear for the Japanese, USA, Brazilian, and French national judo teams. Other than judo, Mizuno is known for producing running and football footwear. The sports giant is one of the main sponsors of the Osaka Marathon, one of the most significant sporting events that take place in Japan.

According to an official statement shared via a press release, the running-themed NFTs are made up of seven unique commemorative Osaka marathon-themed Mizuno Wave Rebellion Pro running shoes. Each one is a different color of the rainbow. Like other sports giants that have engaged in such initiatives, these NFTs will be redeemable for “actual shoes in the same design.”

Mizuno Sportswear Is One-Of-A-Kind

The lucky few that land these shoes will get the “only of their kind” footwear, according to the company statement. As mentioned earlier, Mizuno has also launched three redeemable NFT football boots as part of its Mizuno Alpha range.

These digital collectibles will be auctioned on OpenSea, with bids closing at midnight, Japan Standard Time, on the last day of March. Additionally, the bidding will open at 0.5 ETH for the running collectibles and 0.3 WETH for judo and football wear.

Mizuno’s venture into NFTs coincides with the Japanese government’s growing interest in Web3 technology. They see it as a growth avenue for the nation’s economy and have thus launched a dedicated ministerial-level task force to tackle the space.