Canaries sponsorship agreement with Sint-Truidense V.V. (STVV) of the Belgian First Division A
Arterect Inc. has entered into a Canaries sponsorship agreement with Sint-Truidense Voetbalvereniging (STVV) of the Belgian First Division A, for the 2025-26 season.
We share STVV's vision — giving Japanese players, coaches and business staff a route to Europe and to the world, and acting as a bridge between Japan and Belgium beyond sport itself — and that is what led to this agreement.
From Arterect Inc.
"We are honoured to have signed a Canaries sponsorship agreement with Sint-Truidense V.V., a well-established club in the Belgian First Division A. Their phrase 'from here, to the world' captures something we recognise: a willingness to back people and organisations that keep trying. Arterect wants to take innovation from Japan out to the world through AI. Through this partnership we hope to widen what sport and technology can do together, and to create something new."
— Hayate Esaki, Representative Director
About Sint-Truidense V.V. (STVV)
Koninklijke Sint-Truidense Voetbalvereniging is a football club based in Sint-Truiden in the province of Limburg, Belgium. Commonly known as Sint-Truiden, STVV, or by the nickname De Kanaries (the Canaries), it plays in the Jupiler Pro League, the Belgian first division.
Founded in 1924, the club's best league finish was second in the 1965-66 season, and it has reached the Belgian Cup final twice. The yellow and blue of the club colours are where the "Canaries" nickname comes from. In November 2017 DMM.com LLC acquired control of the club, and in 2018 Takayuki Tateishi, formerly general manager of FC Tokyo, became chief executive.
The club is unusually closely tied to Japan. Under DMM.com's ownership many Japanese players and coaches have used it as their route into European football, including players at national-team level. On and off the pitch it acts as a bridge between Japan and Belgium, and between Japan and European football.
The club sets out five priorities:
- Strengthening the first team
- Developing the academy
- Building new business structures
- Expanding the stadium
- Technical innovation through IT
In 2025-26 the club finished third on 43 points (22 wins, 5 draws, 13 defeats; 61 scored, 46 conceded, goal difference +15) and third in Play-off 1.
Finishing third in Play-off 1 also earned a place in the second qualifying round of the UEFA Europa League. It is the club's first appearance in a European competition in its 102-year history, and the first for a club owned by a Japanese company — a milestone for the effort that began when DMM.com LLC took part in running the club in 2017.
What comes next
AI is at the centre of our business, alongside education, security, games, sport and research and development. Starting from this agreement we will push further into the use of AI in sport, and work on what technology and sport can create together.
We would be grateful for your continued support of Arterect Inc.