The International Swimming League is delighted to announce that four-time Olympic Champion Kosuke Kitajima has been appointed to represent ISL Japan. His first order of duty will be to establish a new club to be based in Tokyo.
The Tokyo club, yet to be named, was unveiled at a media conference in Las Vegas on Saturday as one of two franchises that will compete in the ISL in the 2020-2021 season.
The announcement followed a stunning inaugural ISL Grand Final that brought the revolutionary professional swimming league to a magical climax after a successful first season.Kitajima said, ‘’I am delighted and truly excited to be part of elevating the value of the sport of swimming in a global context. The opportunity for swimmers to succeed in the professional arena is something that most of us have only dreamt about.
‘’ISL will make it possible for swimmers and their coaches to highlight their talent throughout the year on a global arena and inspire children to pursue the sport.’’
The club will also be joined in the ISL by a new franchise based in Toronto, Canada. That brings the number of clubs that will compete in the 2020-2021 season to 10 alongside Aqua Centurions, Energy Standard, Iron and London Roar in Europe and Cali Condors, DC Trident, LA Current and NY Breakers in the U.S.
ISL Founder Konstantin Grigorishin said, ‘The International Swimming League must be a truly global one but our development needs to be sustainable, so we are delighted that we are able to announce that one of our two new clubs for next season will be in Tokyo – the global capital of sport in 2020. Japan is one of the world’s leading swimming nations with a large fanbase so we expect to see a very competitive team be developed there and many fans excited to learn of our plans.’’
Energy Standard’s Daiya Seto is the sole Japanese swimmer in ISL’s inaugural season. He set an incredible World Record in the 400m Individual Medley in the Grand Final in Las Vegas on Friday – a match streamed live in Japan on DAZN.
The 2020-2021 season of the ISL is scheduled to run from September to April with 27 matches taking place, including regular season, playoffs and the Grand Final. More details will follow in the New Year.
About the ISL: The International Swimming League is a global professional swimming competition launching in 2019 with teams in both Europe (Italy-based Aqua Centurions, France-based Energy Standard, Hungary-based Iron, and London Roar) and the United States (Cali Condors, DC Trident, LA Current, NY Breakers). The inaugural season will include matches in Indianapolis IN, Naples ITA, Lewisville TX, Budapest HUN, College Park MD, London GBR, and the championship finale at the 3,800-seat Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, NV. The ISL aims to create groundbreaking projects, in both form and content, exploring the full potential of competitive swimming while securing sustainable commercial growth in the sport.
Key Dates:
5-6 October 2019 – IU Natatorium, Indianapolis, USA
12-13 October 2019 – Aquatic Swimming Complex, Naples, Italy
19-20 October 2019 – The LISD Westside Aquatic Center, Lewisville, Texas, USA
26-27 October 2019 – Duna Area, Budapest, Hungary
16-17 November 2019 – Natatorium at the Eppley Recreation Center, Maryland, USA
23-24 November 2019 – London Aquatic Centre, Great Britain
20-21 December 2019 – Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino, Las Vegas, USA
ISL SOCIAL: Keep up with all the latest ISL news by following @iswimleague on Instagram and Twitter and @internationalswimmingleague on Facebook. Visit https://isl.global
Media Contact: James Mulligan ([email protected])
International Swimming League Ltd
Alfred-Escher-Strasse 17, 8002 Zurich, Switzerland
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