Key Takeaways
- ExperienceXI launched August 26 as a Nike-backed platform connecting Nike-affiliated youth clubs to elite training environments, coaching education, and global match day access.
- Programming spans five categories, anchored domestically at the Arthur M. Blank U.S. Soccer National Training Center in Atlanta.
- Early activations included an 11-day US Club Soccer id2 program in London and two Executive Director Symposiums at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
- The company plans to extend the same operating framework to additional sports over time, with soccer as the foundation.
Atlanta-based ExperienceXI launched on August 26, 2026 as a Nike-backed experiential soccer travel platform built for competitive youth players, coaches, and club leaders within the Nike-affiliated club ecosystem. The company positions itself as the experiential layer on top of Nike’s global soccer relationships, converting brand partnerships with international clubs, federations, and leagues into training access, coaching education, and match day programming for American youth clubs.
Five Program Categories, One Anchor Facility
Per the announcement, ExperienceXI’s turnkey programming runs across five categories: Domestic Elite Experiences anchored at the Arthur M. Blank U.S. Soccer National Training Center, including match day activations tied to the U.S. Men’s and Women’s National Teams; International Programs and Tournaments hosted at Nike-aligned European academies; Global Events activations; Leadership and Coaching Education through domestic and international license pathways; and custom programs designed for Nike’s premier youth clubs.
“What we’re building is the experiential layer that sits underneath Nike’s expansive global soccer relationships,” said Billy Hartman, CEO and Founder of ExperienceXI, describing the platform as a long-term build rather than a one-off activation timed to soccer’s 2026 momentum.
The Programming Is Already Running
The launch announcement arrives with a summer of completed activations behind it. ExperienceXI began inaugural programming at the National Training Center in June 2026 with two Concorde Fire Festival activations, according to the company. It also ran two Executive Director Symposiums tied to international matches at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, and completed an 11-day US Club Soccer id2 international program earlier this month. That trip combined training experiences inside two elite professional club environments in London with attendance at opening weekend professional league matches.
For club operators, the pitch is access that traditional soccer travel providers cannot package. “We don’t sell trips. We create environments that expand how people train, compete, lead, and essentially, how they see and feel the game,” said Phil Hill, President and Co-Founder of ExperienceXI.
Why Nike Wants a Club-Level Activation Engine
For Nike, the platform solves a distribution problem: the brand holds partnerships with top clubs, federations, and training environments worldwide, but those assets have not been systematically available to the youth clubs it sponsors. ExperienceXI is the mechanism for pushing that access down to the club level.
“We’ve invested in the world’s best clubs, federations, and training environments. Working with ExperienceXI is how we make those partnerships available to the players, coaches, and families who are the heart of the game in this country,” said Nuno Silva, VP/GM of Nike Soccer North America.
The strategic shift Nike described is moving its youth club relationships from sponsorship into ongoing engagement. In practical terms, that means a club’s Nike affiliation now carries programming attached to it, not just product. Hartman framed the ambition as turning “something as simple as a kit purchase into a lifelong connection to the game.”
Soccer First, With a Blueprint Built for Other Sports
ExperienceXI said its near-term roadmap includes expanding its domestic footprint at the National Training Center, growing international tournament programming, and rolling out accredited coaching education pathways. Programming is now available across the Nike partner youth soccer ecosystem.
The more consequential detail sits at the end of the announcement: the company is building an operating model designed to extend the same framework to additional sport categories over time, with soccer serving as the foundation. Nike sponsors youth clubs well beyond soccer. Which sport gets the ExperienceXI treatment next is the question this launch leaves open.
Source: ExperienceXI press release, August 26, 2026
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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.
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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.
