10,000 Athletes. 7 Countries. 1 Tournament
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š 10,000 Athletes. 7 Countries. 1 Tournament. Unrivaled Sportsā Youth Flag Football World Championships Return to Disney This Weekend
ā½ USF Athletics Teams Up with Florida Premier FC to Create a Clear Path from Youth Soccer to Division I
ā¾ Perfect Game Names 100% Sunglasses as Official Eyewear Partner and MLB Draft Coverage Presenter
š„¤ LakePoint Sports and Coca-Cola United Extend Partnership Through 2029
āļø IMG Academy Agrees to $1.72 Million Settlement Over Federal Sanctions Violations
š Youth Flag Football World Championships Return to Disney This Weekend, Bringing 10,000 Athletes to ESPN Wide World of Sports
The 2026 Youth Flag Football World Championships, presented by Under Armour, kicks off this weekend (February 19-22) at ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex near Orlando. Nearly 1,000 teams and 10,000 athletes will compete across boys/co-ed and girls divisions from 5U to 18U, making it the worldās largest youth flag football tournament by participant count.
The international field:
Seven countries are represented: U.S., Canada, Mexico, Panama, China, England, and the Bahamas.
Corporate investment:
Under Armour is outfitting every athlete with on-field performance gear. ESPN+ will stream all Division 1 Championship games on Saturday and Sunday. Drew Brees and U.S. Womenās Flag National Team player Ashlea Klam will appear on-site.
Craig Cummings, Under Armour VP of Team Division: The sponsorship represents an investment in an āathlete-first experience.ā
ā½ USF Athletics Teams Up with Florida Premier FC to Create a Clear Path from Youth Soccer to Division I
University of South Florida Athletics and Florida Premier FC announced a multi-layered partnership this week that links one of the nationās largest youth soccer clubs with a Division I athletics program. The deal follows the University of Toledoās youth sports announcement last week, continuing a pattern of universities formalizing relationships with youth clubs rather than treating them as distant feeder systems.
The scale:
Florida Premier FC is a Tampa Bay-based nonprofit with more than 10,000 members, over 420 competitive teams, and a family reach of roughly 30,000. USF sponsors 21 varsity teams and fields nearly 500 student-athletes.
What the partnership does:
USF menās soccer head coach George Kiefer will serve as technical director for Florida Premierās ECNL team
USF will play spring matches in Wesley Chapel and Starkey Ranch, taking Division I soccer into Florida Premier communities
USF campus will host Florida Premier activities, including camps for HappyFeet Soccer (serving 25,000 kids annually)
Cross-promotion of events to each organizationās family base
George Kiefer, USF Menās Soccer Head Coach: āThe number one priority for me is to win our backyard in terms of attracting the best players from the area to stay home and that in my mind starts with Florida Premier.ā
For the 30,000 families in Florida Premierās network, the partnership creates a visible, accessible pathway from a weekend recreational game to a Division I college pitch. That kind of clear progression is exactly what the youth sports marketplace has been missing at scale.
ā¾ Perfect Game Names 100% Sunglasses as Official Eyewear Partner and MLB Draft Coverage Presenter
Perfect Game and 100% Sunglasses announced a partnership making the performance eyewear brand an official partner of the worldās largest youth baseball and softball platform and the presenting sponsor of Perfect Gameās annual MLB Draft coverage.
What the partnership includes:
Co-branded sunglasses will be developed
Custom eyewear distributed to players at the DICKāS All-American Classic and Select Fests (11U-14U) in August
On-site activations at select Perfect Game events throughout the year
Presenting sponsor of āMy Draft Dayā documentary series and all MLB Draft content
The Perfect Game pipeline:
92% of players selected in the 2025 MLB Draft had previously competed at Perfect Game events. Every player taken on day one had a Perfect Game background. Since 2003, more than 15,797 Perfect Game alumni have been selected in the MLB Draft, with 2,383+ going on to play in Major League Baseball.
Rob Ponger, Perfect Game CEO: āPerfect Game is committed to aligning with brands that share our passion for performance, innovation and the next generation of athletes.ā
š„¤ LakePoint Sports and Coca-Cola United Extend Partnership Through 2029
LakePoint Sports announced a five-year partnership renewal with Coca-Cola Bottling Company United, extending their relationship through 2029. The agreement introduces new beverage equipment, self-service solutions, and enhanced product offerings across the 1,300-acre Georgia campus.
Whatās included:
Upgraded points of sale, modernized equipment, and expanded self-service kiosks positioned throughout campus. The infrastructure improvements aim to support increasing scale and peak visitation periods while creating faster service for the millions of annual visitors.
Greg Barckhoff, EVP of Partnerships & Marketing at LakePoint Sports: āThis renewal reflects that shared growth and enables them to invest further in our partnership, bringing new equipment, innovative self-service solutions, and enhanced offerings that elevate the guest experience across our entire campus.ā
āļø IMG Academy Agrees to $1.72 Million Settlement Over Federal Sanctions Violations
The U.S. Treasuryās Office of Foreign Assets Control announced on February 12, 2026 that IMG Academy agreed to pay $1,720,000 to settle potential civil liability for 89 apparent violations of federal counternarcotics sanctions.
The findings:
Two students whose parents were designated as Specially Designated Nationals with ties to a sanctioned Mexican Drug Trafficking Organization were enrolled at IMG between 2018 and 2022. Annual tuition ranged from $97,867 to $102,235, paid via third-party wire transfers from Mexico. OFAC cited IMG for āreckless disregardā of sanctions requirements, noting the school had no formal compliance program in place during the enrollment period.
IMG Academyās response:
The school acknowledged it did not have an OFAC sanctions compliance program between 2018 and 2022. IMG says it disclosed the matter upon learning of the violations, cooperated fully with investigators, hired a Chief Legal Officer, and implemented a formal sanctions program.
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