The Japanese human resources company joins with the U.S. basketball powerhouse to inspire jobseekers to pursue a career in the business of sports

Washington, D.C. and Tokyo, Japan – Today, Monumental Sports & Entertainment (MSE), owner of the NBA’s Washington Wizards, announced a first-of-its-kind collaboration and the signing of an international marketing deal with RECRUIT DIRECT SCOUT a recruitment service for highly-skilled, highly-talented jobseekers, for a multi-tiered series of activations which will begin in Japan this fall. The Washington Wizards will take on the NBA’s Golden State Warriors in Japan for two exhibition games during the pre-season on Friday, September 30, 2022, and Sunday October 2, 2022 – and the Wizards and RECRUIT DIRECT SCOUT were energized to identify a meaningful partnership to further the interest in the increasingly popular sport within Japan. This is the second global marketing rights deal with an international partner in Japan – MSE signed its first with NEC Corporation in 2019.

“Bringing the beloved sport of basketball to fans in Japan is incredible – and this first-of-its-kind international marketing agreement with RECRUIT DIRECT SCOUT builds on our investments to make the Washington Wizards a global brand,” said Jim Van Stone, President of Business Operations & Chief Commercial Officer at Monumental Sports & Entertainment. “Opening up opportunities for those in the Japanese workforce to learn about the business of sports and how their talents can support our industry is a perfect win-win. We are looking forward to this important element of the overall programming we’ve created around the Wizards’ playing in Tokyo.”

There are two major components to the first activation of this partnership – specifically around the pre-season games scheduled for this fall:

• Work with the Wizards During Their Japanese Tour: There will be limited job openings and an ability to work within the Wizards team operations around the Japanese visit. The employment period will last for one month from September 2-October 2, 2022, and available, paid opportunities will include posts in Marketing, Public Relations, Partnership Marketing, and Business Development. Positions will be available on the RECRUIT DIRECT SCOUT website beginning July 8, 2022, at https://directscout.recruit.co.jp/contents/job/wizards/?vos=mdrdsbrandwizards00003

• Attend a Sports Business Conference with Executives from the Wizards: While the Wizards organization are in Japan, they will host a half-day conference as an introduction into the sports business industry and target an audience of young talent who may consider pursuing a career in the field. Led by Washington Wizards executives, topics will include thought-provoking ideas like the latest trends in sports business and practical advice like how candidates can use their talent and skills to fill a need for sports organizations operating in the Japanese sports business market. While there is no fee to attend, participants must be accepted through an application process. This will be held in-person, though online participation may be made available. For additional information on the conference please visit the RECRUIT DIRECT SCOUT website https://directscout.recruit.co.jp/contents/job/wizards/?vos=mdrdsbrandwizards00003 beginning in early August.

Following the Wizards’ visit to Tokyo and these initial activations with RECRUIT DIRECT SCOUT in the fall, the two organizations will be announcing additional collaborative endeavors for the upcoming 2022-23 Wizards season.

“We are gratefully honored to be the second Japanese company and first in the HR field to sign a partnership deal with the Washington Wizards,” added Nobuo Fujiwara, Producer, RECRUIT DIRECT SCOUT. “Through this sponsorship, we would like to contribute to the further development of sports business in Japan while we pursue increasing the number of job offers and scouting opportunities that will help expand the careers of high-level personnel.”

In addition to these efforts with RECRUIT DIRECT SCOUT, Monumental Sports & Entertainment and the Wizards organizations will have a holistic agenda and tour planned while in country during late September and early October. This includes skills clinics for young, aspiring players run by the Junior Wizards program; esports demonstrations with Wizards District Gaming, the NBA 2K League gaming franchise also owned by Monumental Sports; special appearances by highly respected and decorated Wizards Alumni and meet-and-greets with the Washington Mystics, the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) franchise also owned by Monumental Sports.

The Wizards have a long tradition of promoting the game of basketball overseas – and it carries great meaning for the organization as the global city of Washington D.C. is host to nearly 200 foreign country’s embassies and the team draws from a fanbase where nearly one in five residents of the greater Washington region were born overseas. The first official overseas game featuring an NBA team was an exhibition matchup between the Washington Bullets (the previous team moniker) and Maccabi Tel Aviv in 1978. The Wizards have played numerous overseas games in cities as diverse as London (2019), Brazil (2013), Barcelona (2008) and Berlin (2008).

The pre-season games will be played at Saitama Super Arena, which hosted the basketball competitions during the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

In Japan, general attention to sports has experienced year-over-year growth – evidenced by the Tokyo Olympics held last year, the professional sports leagues that continued to show excitement even through the COVID period, and the success of many Japanese athletes overseas. Still, the “business” aspect of sports remains an untapped resource, even though there are extraordinary Japanese business personnel who could fill those roles, if given the opportunity and education to learn more about the sports industry and sports business. Through this partnership with the Washington Wizards, RECRUIT DIRECT SCOUT hopes to break these barriers and provide opportunities for Japanese business personnel to be exposed to the most elite practitioners within the business of sports – the Washington Wizards organization.

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About Monumental Sports & Entertainment
Monumental Sports & Entertainment is America’s leading sports and entertainment family. Our people, players, teams, and events bring excitement and joy to millions. We invest and innovate to consistently raise the game so we can deliver extraordinary experiences that will inspire and unite our community, our fans, and our people. To learn more, please visit www.monumentalsports.com.

MSE PR Contact

Anu Rangappa

E-mail: arangappa@monumentalsports.com

Washington Wizards PR Contact

Ketsia Colimon

E-mail: kcolimon@monumentalsports.com

About RECRUIT DIRECT SCOUT
RECRUIT DIRECT SCOUT, owned and operated by Recruit Co., Ltd., headquartered in Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo currently operating under CEO Yoshihiro Kitamura, is a membership-based job scouting service for the next generation of leaders that support job changing and mid to long-term career development. By registering your resume, you will receive scout messages from headhunters and companies that have job postings that match your background and skills. In addition, you can choose the headhunter you would like to consult with based on the profiles (years of industry experience, educational background, personal PR, career history, achievements, etc.) of the headhunters that Recruit has partnered with who have extensive experience in helping executive level recruitment. This is a platform where business personnel can find their best suited headhunter. For more information, please click here: https://www.recruit.co.jp/