The role of sponsorship in children’s competitive sports is undoubtedly an important one.
The benefits for the sponsor are far-reaching. Just as sponsors play a key part in the promotion of professional sports, sponsors of children’s teams can also make a huge difference, helping to increase the quality and enjoyment of the young players they are championing.
The benefits for the young athletes are plentiful too. Those youth players can get a taste of how it feels to be taken seriously in their sport, motivating them to work hard and be the best they can be.
Let’s take a closer look at both:
Advantages of sponsorship for the children
From the young athlete’s point of view, having sponsorship for their efforts has so many benefits:
A sense of pride
Young people grow up idolising their favourite sports people in their chosen field, and they see that those superstars are sponsored by big brands who want to champion their efforts.
When they receive similar sponsorship for their own sporting efforts, they feel the pride of knowing that someone believes in them enough to invest in their future, re-affirming their belief that maybe one day, they can be as successful as their big-name heroes.
It can also help a team bond – their shared pride in representing a sponsor can help motivate the team to train hard and make their sponsors proud.
Financial security
Sponsorship for youth teams lifts some of the financial burdens that might be associated with practising and participating in youth sports off parents’ shoulders. In turn, this allows the children to focus on doing what they love – playing their chosen sport and training hard.
The best opportunities to flourish
Sponsorship also allows youth teams to provide the very best equipment and resources for their young players. When they feel like they’re being taken seriously and being invested in, their confidence blooms and their talent grows.
The financial support of sponsorship means that the team can improve their training facilities, have a great kit that makes them feel like mini-professionals and everything else they could wish for to enrich their sporting experience.
Advantages of sponsorship for the sponsor
There are so many benefits for a business or brand to sponsor a competitive children’s sports team. On a practical level, the investment can be considerably smaller and more realistic than sponsoring a Premier League football team, but the advantages can be just as far-reaching!
Brand awareness
Sponsorship is a really great, interactive style of advertising for a brand. There is a multitude of ways to incorporate your logo and branding into the team you sponsor. On their kit is the obvious one, but there could also be opportunities for print adverts in match day programs, creative branding at events or matches, logo banners at local events and so much more.
Sponsoring a children’s team will undoubtedly put the brand in a favourable light and help them to gain an edge over their competitors.
This can be especially important for smaller, local businesses, where reputation is everything. Making a name for yourself as a champion of young people in the local area can be an incredibly valuable investment in your business’s future as well as the young athletes!
Early brand adoption
The young players that benefit from a brand’s sponsorship will always remember that brand’s belief in them. By connecting with those athletes at a young age, the brand can build loyalty and credibility that will last a lifetime.
Similarly, the parents of those young players will undoubtedly come to favour the brand that helped make their youngsters feel championed, too. Sponsorship of a youth team is one of the most direct ways to tap into your chosen market. You can build valuable relationships with existing customers and reach out to potential new ones at the same time.
Help to foster the stars of the future
The altruistic reasons for sponsoring a youth team shouldn’t be overlooked either. When you sponsor young athletes, you could literally be investing in the stars of the future. And even if that’s not the case, you’ll be helping to nurture a love of sport in children, and helping them to make memories that will last forever.
If you’ve ever been part of a sports team yourself, you’ll know first-hand the sense of joy and pride that playing as part of a team can bring. Being able to enrich that experience for the next generation of sports lovers is truly an honour.
In short, the role of sponsorship in children’s competitive sports is wide, varied and incredibly valuable for everyone involved!
