(Bloomberg) -- SoftBank Group Corp. will no longer have Huawei Technologies Co. as a main sponsor for its professional baseball team, following a rift between the one-time allies amid global scrutiny of the Chinese firm’s communications equipment.
Japan’s reigning baseball champions Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks will no longer feature Huawei’s name and logo on player caps starting from Friday’s season-opener, according to Huawei’s Japan spokesman Natsuki Hazama. The Chinese telecom equipment giant had been one of four main sponsors for billionaire Masayoshi Son’s team for the past three years.
“Through our discussions with SoftBank, it was decided that this was the best outcome,” Hazama said by phone. The Chinese firm will continue to market on billboards at SoftBank’s stadium, he said.
The change follows SoftBank’s December announcement that it would shift away from using Huawei’s gear in its core Japanese telecom infrastructure in favor of European suppliers. Last month, Son said he will weigh stability and cost in deciding which equipment to use for his company’s fifth-generation mobile network.
The Trump administration has been waging a campaign to block Huawei from supplying equipment for fifth-generation wireless networks, amid growing concerns that Chinese firm makes it possible for Beijing to spy on the West. Huawei has denied claims its equipment provides back doors for the Chinese government, saying that no one has provided evidence to support such concerns.
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