A new sport has emerged in Japan called SpoGomi. It is a creative competition centered on collecting garbage. Japan, renowned for its tidy streets and disciplined civic life, is set to host the first World Cup for this sport. The event will unfold on the streets of Tokyo in November.
SpoGomi combines the idea of sport with gomi, the Japanese word for trash. Teams of three to five players race to gather the largest amount of waste within a fixed period, aiming for a cleanup of the highest quality.
Japan will host the inaugural SpoGomi World Cup in November this year, with twenty teams from around the world expected to take to Tokyo streets in pursuit of litter to collect.
60 minutes per test
Under the SpoGomi rules, each team has a 60-minute window to amass as much trash as possible from a designated area. Participants sort waste into color-coded bags by category such as combustible waste, recyclable plastic, metal cans, and more. When the clock stops, a panel weighs and validates the trash to confirm correct classification. The team with the most waste wins.
A participant in this sport modality
Participants wear heavy-duty cleaning gloves to handle litter comfortably and use long-reach tongs to collect waste while standing. In typical Japanese fashion, the opening cheer is often a shared shout: “Garbage collecting is a sport!” before racing to their assigned zones.
SpoGomi ambassador and Olympic swimming medalist Takeshi Matsuda spoke about the spirit of the game at a Tokyo press conference: “Garbage collection can be enjoyable when turned into a competitive activity. Anyone can participate, regardless of age or gender. It matters to collect waste in cities because waste is increasingly entering the oceans, so diverting it before it reaches the sea is important.”
The event enjoys strong corporate backing in Japan. For instance, major sponsor Fast Retailing Co. and its Uniqlo stores have pledged substantial support for the project. The broader aim is to reinforce a culture of public space stewardship, a tradition that traces back to 2008 with similar community cleanups. SpoGomi is presented as a lively, accessible form of citizen science and civic sport.
For inquiries about official programs or participation details, organizations typically direct inquiries to the environmental departments of the hosting city. This information is provided through formal channels and is subject to change depending on local regulations and event planning progress.