Help Edobor become a professional sumo wrestler

I know what you are thinking-- professional sumo wrestling? This title must be a joke! It is not, however, dear friends. If Edobor were born in Japan, there would be no need for a GoFundMe. All Ed would have to do is knock on a few doors, show his potential and skills as a wrestler, and he might be taken into a stable (essentially a sumo training abbey) without much issue. If he was denied-- he could train harder and try again later.

The issue, and thus cause for this GoFundMe– is that it is tough for a foreigner to become a professional sumo wrestler in Japan for many reasons outside of skill and dedication. The first reason is that Japan has a cap on the number of foreigners that can enter the league at any given time. There is a limit of one foreigner per stable, and there are around 40-60 stables at any given year. Currently, there are 43 stables– which means 43 foreigners in the entire sport of professional Japanese Sumo. This fact means there is a lot of competition for very few spots.

So then you are thinking, ‘Okay, it’s competitive– how will raising money help Edobor beat the odds and join a stable when thousands of others are fighting for the same spot?’ The answer is tournaments. As a wrestler, the best bet for Edobor to become a Rikishi (professional sumo wrestler) is by winning large tournaments– enough to catch the eyes and ears of the Japanese Sumo Federation and their hungry stables for promising wrestlers. Each tournament requires no small investment of money for travel, housing, and food expenses. Most tournaments are across the country, and many of the large tournaments Edobor will need to attend, are overseas. Attending tournaments, as you can imagine, gets quite expensive for a young man studying in college. This reason is why we need your help.

Now, perhaps you are thinking "Is Edobor even eligible to become a professional sumo wrestler?" Yes, there are two requirements– he must be 23 years old or under by the time of joining, and he must not have tattoos. In fact, Edobor is 20 years old with zero tattoos. Furthermore, he has been training in sumo wrestling for two years, which, along with his eligibility to enter the league, puts him as one of the top American contenders to break into the sumo ranks again (currently, there are zero Americans).

Ed has won multiple tournaments in America so far, including Gold in lightweight at the Consolute cup, Silver Medal in Lightweight at the USA Open (the largest American sumo tournament), Gold Medal in both Lightweight and MiddleWeight in the Beer City Sumo Open, and finally silver medal in Open weight for Sumo Dan's All American Sumo Classic at the Mr. America competition.

We, NC Sumo, Edobor's home sumo club, ask that you kindly help us raise money for this promising American wrestler. Thank you dear friends!