Key Takeaways
- SOCCER.COM’s new sponsorship platform packages 1,500+ partner clubs, 34,000+ youth teams, and hundreds of thousands of families into a single national buy.
- The program also folds in the retailer’s consumer business, content properties, and more than 7 million social media followers.
- A 2026 YouGov Sport study found 84 percent of parents view companies sponsoring youth sports programs positively.
- Priority Partnerships, agency of record on the program, also represents Stronger Youth Brands and Girls Soccer Network.
SOCCER.COM has launched a national youth soccer sponsorship program that gives brands a single point of entry to soccer families across the country. Announced August 19, 2026, the program was developed with Priority Partnerships, the Portland, Oregon based firm serving as SOCCER.COM’s sponsorship sales agency of record. At its foundation is the retailer’s youth club network of more than 1,500 partner organizations representing 34,000+ youth soccer teams and hundreds of thousands of families, per the announcement.
The Assets Bundled Into One Platform
The club network is the anchor, but the program pulls in the full range of SOCCER.COM’s commercial footprint. According to the announcement, the platform combines the youth club network with the company’s consumer retail business, its content properties, and more than 7 million social media followers.
That combination matters because each asset reaches soccer families at a different point: clubs at the field level, retail at the point of purchase, and content and social channels in between. SOCCER.COM, founded in 1984 and headquartered in Hillsborough, North Carolina, describes itself as the world’s largest soccer-specialty retailer and outfits thousands of youth clubs nationwide.
Why Has National Youth Soccer Sponsorship Been Hard to Buy?
Fragmentation. The youth sports category has historically been split across thousands of independent clubs, leagues, and tournaments, leaving brands with limited options to activate at scale, per the announcement. A national brand wanting to reach youth soccer families typically had to stitch together dozens of local deals, each with its own pricing, inventory, and reporting.
The new program is a direct response to that problem, offering a coordinated framework for national activation across the SOCCER.COM network. “SOCCER.COM is the epicenter of soccer culture in America. This program creates one of the most significant sponsorship opportunities in youth sports,” said Dan Scheinman, President and Founder of Priority Partnerships, adding that it gives brands a framework to invest in youth sports in ways that were not previously possible.
What Parents Think About Brands in Youth Sports
The receptivity data works in the program’s favor. A 2026 national study commissioned by Priority Partnerships and conducted by YouGov Sport found that 84 percent of parents hold a positive attitude toward companies sponsoring youth sports programs. The same study found youth sports sponsorship more effective than professional sports sponsorship at capturing parent attention.
For brands weighing where to place sponsorship dollars, those two findings address the most common objections: whether parents welcome commercial partners in youth environments, and whether the audience actually pays attention.
A Retailer Turned Rights Holder for 34,000 Teams
SOCCER.COM built its business selling gear to soccer families for four decades. This program repositions those relationships as sponsorship inventory, with Priority Partnerships selling access on the open market alongside its other youth sports clients, including Stronger Youth Brands, the parent company of Soccer Shots and Little Kickers, and Girls Soccer Network.
The pieces are now assembled: 1,500+ clubs, 34,000+ teams, 7 million+ followers, and third-party data showing parents outpace pro sports audiences in attention. What comes next is the part no press release can confirm, which national brands sign first and at what price.
Source: EIN Presswire, Priority Partnerships, August 19, 2026, https://www.einpresswire.com/article/934839681/soccer-com-launches-national-sponsorship-program
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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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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.
