Key Takeaways
- Half of the 7.8 million young people Nike reached in fiscal 2026 were girls, 3.9 million in total, according to the company.
- Nike’s 2030 targets call for empowering more than 1 million coaches and reaching more than 20 million girls through its sport initiatives.
- Nike reports 981,000 girls impacted, a metric it defines as sustained sport participation over time resulting from a Nike initiative.
- Nike routes product donations through Good360, Good Sports and Soles4Souls and does not accept unsolicited donation requests.
NIKE, Inc. empowered 143,000 coaches and reached 7.8 million young people in fiscal year 2026 through its Future of Youth Sport initiative, according to the company’s updated mission page. Nike promoted the figures on October 6 in a LinkedIn post. Daniel Burrows, General Manager of Future of Youth Sport, Global Social Impact at Nike, shared it in a companion post. Burrows wrote that Nike believes every kid in the world should have access to sport and that coaches play a critical role in helping young people thrive.
What Are Nike’s 2030 Future of Youth Sport Goals?
Nike has set three targets for 2030, according to its mission page:
- Empower more than 1 million coaches.
- Reach more than 20 million girls through a Nike sport initiative.
- Impact more than 2 million girls, measured as participation in sport over time.
For fiscal 2026, the company reported 143,000 coaches empowered, 7.8 million youth reached (3.9 million of them girls), and 981,000 girls impacted.
Nike frames the work around a participation gap. Only 1 in 5 kids globally gets the physical activity they need, the company states, and girls and youth from underserved communities move the least.
In Nike’s LinkedIn post, Vanessa Garcia-Brito, VP and Chief Impact Officer, said the company is “really focused on inviting all kids in to play.” She added that Nike wants girls to feel that they unequivocally belong in sport.
Coaches as the Delivery Model for Nike’s Youth Sport Work
In his post, Burrows said Nike is committed to co-creating positive, safe and inclusive sport experiences while supporting coaches worldwide. The company’s coaching hub at nike.com/coaching puts that approach into practice with free resources:
- How to Coach Kids: fundamentals for coaching ages 7 to 12 in any sport.
- Coaching Girls: short courses on coaching girls.
- Body Confident Sport: built with Dove, the Centre for Appearance Research and the Tucker Center for Research on Girls and Women in Sport.
- Coaching HER: developed with the Tucker Center.
- Coaching Girls Guide: created with the Center for Healing and Justice Through Sport and Youth Sports Trust International.
- Playbooks: downloadable guides on building inclusive experiences for hijabi athletes and on normalizing sports bras.
Nike also supports store employees who coach youth in their local communities through its Nike Community Ambassador program, according to the hub.
Burrows has been active on coach education beyond Nike’s own channels. YSBR previously reported that he facilitated a FIBA and Nike session on coaching girls at the FIBA Women in Basketball Forum in Berlin.
How Youth Organizations Can Access Nike Grants and Product
Most of Nike’s youth sport funding goes to select nonprofit partners, according to the company. Grassroots organizations can apply through two annual funds:
- Nike Community Impact Fund: one-year grants to local nonprofits and schools, available in specific areas.
- Nike N7 Fund: grants to nonprofits serving Indigenous communities in North America.
Nike handles product donations entirely through third parties. The company says it does not accept unsolicited product donation requests. Instead, it directs organizations to Good360, Good Sports and Soles4Souls. Good Sports, the U.S.-based partner, provides sports gear to eligible youth-serving organizations and schools in high-need communities.
143,000 Coaches Now, 1 Million by 2030
Nike’s fiscal 2026 report puts concrete numbers against a public deadline. The largest of the three published gaps is on coaching: 143,000 coaches empowered in fiscal 2026, against a target of more than 1 million by 2030. Nike’s mission page does not specify whether its annual figures count cumulatively toward the 2030 goals.
Source: NIKE, Inc., The Future of Youth Sport, https://about.nike.com/en/mission/focus-areas/future-of-youth-sport
Source: LinkedIn, Daniel Burrows, October 6, 2026, https://lnkd.in/p/gQUb_nkB
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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.
Youth Sports Business Report resources
- Newsletter: Subscribe to Youth Sports HQ, the most-read newsletter on the business of youth sports, delivering curated youth sports industry news and analysis to thousands of industry leaders every week.
- Research: Read the Youth Sports TAM & Parent Spending Report, an exclusive YSBR and Kinetica Group analysis of market size, parent spending, and marketplace opportunities.
- 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.
- Services: Find vetted partners and solutions for your organization in the YSBR Services Hub, connecting youth sports operators, brands, and investors with verified providers across the industry.
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Check out Jr. Sports Marketing on YouTube or Spotify
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.
