Key Takeaways
- Bank of America Sports with Us now spans 15 countries and provides sports access for more than 1.2 million children, per the bank.
- Youth Sport Trust, which works with roughly 20,000 UK schools, will deliver the programme by expanding its Active in Mind initiative.
- The bank aims to positively impact more than 10,000 young people across 14 countries outside the US by the end of 2028.
- Programming pairs Athlete Mentor-led sport with modules on leadership, wellbeing, nutrition and financial education developed with global universities.
Bank of America has named Youth Sport Trust as the UK delivery partner for Sports with Us, bringing the bank’s global youth sport platform to the United Kingdom. Bank of America Sports with Us now spans 15 countries and provides access to sports for more than 1.2 million children, according to the announcement. The UK launch is part of the bank’s stated ambition to positively impact more than 10,000 young people across 14 countries outside the United States by the end of 2028, and it positions the programme as a lasting legacy of the bank’s role as Official Bank of the FIFA World Cup 2026.
A Delivery Partner With Reach Into 20,000 UK Schools
Youth Sport Trust is the UK children’s charity focused on improving young people’s health and wellbeing through sport and play. Founded in 1995, the organization works with around 20,000 schools and provides opportunities for more than two million children every year, per the charity. The selection builds on an existing relationship between the two organizations rather than starting from scratch, a detail worth noting for operators who pitch global brands: proven partners get the expansion mandate.
For Bank of America, that school network solves the distribution problem that stalls many brand-led youth initiatives. The bank supplies the platform and funding structure; Youth Sport Trust supplies access to classrooms and existing programme infrastructure.
What Participants Get: Sport, Mentoring and a Curriculum
The UK programme will support the expansion of Youth Sport Trust’s Active in Mind initiative, which uses physical activity to strengthen mental health and resilience in school-age young people, according to the announcement. Participants will take part in sport-based activities led by Athlete Mentors alongside practical learning in leadership, teamwork, communication, wellbeing, nutrition and financial education. The companies said programme modules were developed in collaboration with global universities and educational institutions.
The financial education component is the clearest link back to the sponsor’s core business, and it mirrors how Bank of America has structured Sports with Us programming in other markets.
Former Manchester United and England footballer Gary Neville, a Bank of America partner, appeared at the London launch event. “Sports with Us is about creating opportunities, building confidence and helping the next generation believe in what they can achieve,” Neville said in the announcement.
How Does Sports with Us Fit the Bank’s World Cup Strategy?
Bank of America has framed Sports with Us as the vehicle for extending its FIFA World Cup 2026 sponsorship beyond the tournament window. The platform’s stated footprint, 15 countries and 1.2 million children, gives the bank a community programme it can point to in every major market where it operates, and the 2028 target of 10,000 young people across 14 countries outside the US gives the effort a measurable deadline.
Fernando Vicario, Bank of America Country Executive for the UK and CEO of Merrill Lynch International, said the partnership is about helping “create pathways for young people to build brighter futures.” Ali Oliver MBE, Chief Executive Officer of Youth Sport Trust, said the collaboration will “equip young people with the essential skills they need to thrive in education, employment and life.”
A Sponsorship Designed to Outlast the Final Whistle
The structure here is the story for youth sports operators: a global financial brand converting a tournament sponsorship into multi-year, school-based programming delivered through an established local charity. The announced timelines are concrete. Bank of America has committed to its 10,000-young-person target across 14 countries outside the US by the end of 2028, and the UK expansion of Active in Mind begins now. The open question is which of the remaining Sports with Us markets gets a named delivery partner next.
Source: Bank of America Newsroom, October 13, 2026, https://newsroom.bankofamerica.com/content/newsroom/press-releases/2026/10/bank-of-america-in-partnership-with-youth-sport-trust-bring-new-.html
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About Youth Sports Business Report
Youth Sports Business Report (YSBR) is the largest and most trusted media platform covering the business of youth sports worldwide. YSBR delivers youth sports news, market intelligence, and original analysis daily across facilities, sponsorships, private equity, NIL, sports technology, and league operations. With more than 50,000 followers, YSBR is the leading source of youth sports industry news for the investors, owners, operators, and brands shaping the future of youth sports.
How big is the youth sports market?
American families spend approximately $54 billion annually on kids’ sports and recreation, according to the YSBR and Kinetica Group Youth Sports TAM & Parent Spending Report, with organized sports alone representing a $40 billion-plus market. The average family spent $1,016 on a child’s primary sport in 2024, up 46 percent since 2019, per the Aspen Institute’s Project Play, and market research projects the global youth sports market will reach approximately $114 billion by 2032 (Business Research Insights).
How many kids play youth sports in the United States?
Approximately 27.3 million children ages 6 to 17, or about 54.6 percent, played organized sports in 2022-2023, according to the National Survey of Children’s Health as reported by the Aspen Institute’s Project Play. High school sports participation reached a record 8.26 million athletes in 2024-25, per the NFHS.
Who founded Youth Sports Business Report?
Youth Sports Business Report was founded by Cameron Korab, a sports marketing veteran with more than a decade in the industry and an MBA from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management. Korab also co-founded Vertical Sports, a sports marketing advisory serving brands across youth, college, and pro sports.
What does YSBR cover?
YSBR delivers original reporting and market intelligence on youth sports facilities, youth sports technology, sponsorship and brand partnerships, private equity and venture capital deals, NIL policy, coaching development, equipment and apparel, tournaments and events, and community sports initiatives. Readers include industry executives, investors, facility owners and operators, league administrators, and youth sports parents.
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- Jobs: Browse the YSBR Youth Sports Job Board, the most comprehensive destination for careers in youth sports, with hundreds of active listings across facility management, league operations, coaching, sports technology, and marketing.
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Hosted by Cameron Korab, founder of Youth Sports Business Report, Jr. Sports Marketing features candid 1-on-1 conversations with the brands, athletes, leagues, and innovators building the future of youth sports. Each episode breaks down how the smartest brands are activating, building equity, and winning with youth sports families. If you’re an operator, founder, investor, or marketer trying to understand where this space is headed, this is your show.
Youth Sports Marketing Questions, Answered
Where can brands sponsor youth sports? Brands can sponsor youth sports through local leagues and clubs, tournaments and events, facilities and complexes, governing bodies, and national platform programs. Sponsoring a child’s own program is the most powerful entry point: 81 percent of parents say it captures their attention, outperforming TV, social media, and pro sports sponsorship, per a 2026 Priority Partnerships study conducted by YouGov Sport.
How much does youth sports sponsorship cost? Youth sports sponsorship costs range from a few thousand dollars for a local league or team sponsorship to six and seven figures for regional facility naming rights and national platform programs. The environment is welcoming at every level: 84 percent of parents hold net positive sentiment toward brands sponsoring youth sports, with negative sentiment under 5 percent, per YouGov Sport research. Most brands start with a pilot activation, measure engagement, then scale.
What is the ROI of youth sports marketing? The data is striking: 80 percent of parents say they would choose the brand that sponsors their child’s youth sports program when comparing two similar products, per a 2026 Priority Partnerships study by YouGov Sport. A 2026 EMARKETER and DICK’S Media survey found 84 percent of sports parents say that role influences their purchase decisions, and 60 percent spend more on game and practice days, driving loyalty across categories from dining to travel to automotive.
Ready to build a youth sports strategy? Vertical Sports is an Advisory+ delivering integrated expertise across all levels of sport. Youth, College, Pro. Every Fan, Every Level. Brands and youth sports organizations can reach the team at info@verticalsports.us.
