Mizuno has extended its partnership with the European Judo Union ©Getty Images

The European Judo Union (EJU) and Mizuno have extended the partnership which sees the Japanese manufacturer act as an official EJU judogi supplier.

The judogi is the traditional judo uniform.

Mizuno started selling judo products in France in 2000 and now distributes judogi in every country in Europe.

It has vowed to aid the EJU's mission to develop judo across the continent, including through supporting training camps, seminars and children's activities.

Guillame Gay, business manager of Mizuno France, believes the deal can be beneficial for both parties.

"After a complicated year, we expect things to be back to normal as much as possible," Gay said.

France's Clarisse Agbegnenou was among the winners in a Mizuno judogi at the recent World Championships ©Getty Images
France's Clarisse Agbegnenou was among the winners in a Mizuno judogi at the recent World Championships ©Getty Images

"We hope there will be as many judoka on tatamis as before, from kids to competitors. 

"We hope that spectators will be allowed to assist to competition and, of course, we also hope our business will be back to what it used to be. 

"The pandemic had a strong impact on everything and we expect a recovery as soon as possible. 

"Then we will have some new projects, especially to prepare for Olympics in Paris which will be another major event but we should go step by step and fully recover first."

The EJU has three premium partners covering judogi - Adidas, Essimo and Ippon Gear - plus one more official supplier, Green Hill, and an official supporter in Fighting Films.

The European governing body also announced an extension of its partnership with Official Backnumber, a Hungarian supplier of numbers for the backs of judogi.