Doha: For the first time, teams of several people will work together to pick up litter in a defined area under a time limit. This is not part of a Corporate Social Responsibility activity but a World Cup sport to be held in Tokyo, Japan.
Turning garbage clean-up into a sport is the idea behind SPOGOMI World Cup 2023 which will be staged once qualifying events scheduled to take place in 20 countries conclude.
The word SPOGOMI combines Japanese word Gomi for trash with sport. The aim of the event is to realise the creation of clean and comfortable cities while having fun, stated the website dedicated to SPOGOMI.
Under the rules, each team consists of three people and has an hour to collect litter at a designated area, while trying to sort into colour coded bags depending on the garbage type. The points will be based on the quantity and the quality of the garbage collected.
Kyodo News quoted SpoGOMI ambassador and Olympic swimming medalist Takeshi Matsuda as saying during a press conference in Tokyo, "Picking up litter can be fun if you make it a game to compete in. And anyone can take part, regardless of age and sex."
SPOGOMI though being held for the first time as an international sport is not a new game for the Japanese who have been participating in it at a local level since 2008. The sport caught on so quick that hundreds of competitions are held every year.
