KUALA LUMPUR: ATF Sport Taping, a Malaysian sports tape brand co-founded by former national rugby player Azmir Zanul Abdin, have been appointed as an official partner of the Fiji Sevens rugby team.
The partnership will see ATF providing the Fijian squad with a full range of high-performance sport tapes, including kinesiology tape, athletic tape, sports bandages and wraps
ATF will also be working together with the Fiji squad to develop new high performance tapes that caters to their specific needs.
The Fiji squad have won the World Rugby Sevens Series five times and also the Olympic gold in 2016 (Rio) and 2020 (Tokyo).
Azmir, who co-founded ATF together with fellow rugby player Khairul Azhar Mohamad, said it is an honour for the seven-year-old brand to work with the legendary Fijian squad.
"They are one of the most formidable rugby teams in the world, known for their athleticisim, speed and power," said Azmir when contacted today.
"We approached them during the Dubai Sevens last year and were recently able to finalise a deal with them which runs until the end of next year.
"It was always our intent to go global, so this is definitely a milestone moment for us. Hopefully this partnership will serve as a catalyst (for growth)."
Fiji sevens head coach Ben Gollings is optimistic of a mutually beneficial partnership.
"The support and high-quality products offered by ATF will undoubtedly elevate our performance and assist our players in maintaining peak condition," said Gollings in a statement released by ATF.
Azmir, who is chief executive officer of ATF Sport Sdn Bhd, disclosed that he and Khairul had launched the brand in 2016 due to the lack of quality sports tapes available at an affordable price in Malaysia at the time.
The National Sports Institute owns a minority stake in the company.