SportsAid

Name

SportsAid

Legal name

Sports Aid Trust

Website

https://sportsaid.org.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

1976

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Youth athlete development and sports charity services

akta.pro primary industry

Sports Fundraising & Development Services (Foundations, NIL Collectives Support) (MPAKAKAK)

akta.pro secondary industry

Athlete Wellness & Lifestyle Management/Concierge (Relocation, Personal Ops) (MPAKAMAK)

Keywords

• Youth athlete support
• Sports charity services
• Athlete financial awards
• Athlete development programs
• Elite sport funding

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Others, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Corporate Partnerships: SportsAid receives funding and in-kind support from corporate partners including RBC, Entain, Aldi, Elton John Sports Fund, Hogarth, Marsh, and others. Partners provide financial awards to athletes (typically £1,000 annually per athlete), employee fundraising, mentoring, specialist workshops, and pro bono services.
2. Government Funding (Sport England): Sport England provides funding for specific programmes including TASS (Talented Athlete Scholarship Scheme), Backing The Best, and DiSE (Diploma in Sporting Excellence). Sport England is classified as a non-departmental Government body.
3. Individual Donations & Fundraising: Individual supporters donate through the website, JustGiving, and participate in fundraising events including marathon places, challenge events, and general fundraising campaigns.
4. Event-based Fundraising: SportsAid generates income through guaranteed charity places in events like the London Marathon (minimum fundraising target £2,500), Superhero Triathlon, and other challenge events.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

SportsAid is a UK charity that supports talented young athletes across Olympic and Paralympic sports by providing direct financial awards (typically £1,000 annually per athlete) towards travel, accommodation, equipment and competition costs. It complements the financial support with structured development programmes (Backing the Best, TASS, Team England Futures, DiSE), workshops on nutrition, mental wellbeing, media training and life skills, mentoring from corporate partners, recognition through the One-to-Watch Award, and the SportsAid Connect digital community platform.

Product overview

SportsAid is a charity that supports talented young athletes through multiple interconnected programmes. The core offering includes SportsAid Connect (a digital community platform powered by RBC), athlete funding programmes (Backing the Best), and the Talented Athlete Scholarship Scheme (TASS). The organization also delivers the Team England Futures programme and runs the One-to-Watch Award. Supporting these core services are the SportsAid Vault podcast and various workshop and networking opportunities for athletes.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• SportsAid Connect: A digital platform powered by RBC that brings support, guidance, learning and community together for athletes and their support networks
• Backing The Best
• Talented Athlete Scholarship Scheme (TASS)
• Team England Futures
• Diploma in Sporting Excellence (DiSE)

Products and services

• SportsAid Connect, powered by RBC A private, safe and moderated digital community platform for SportsAid-supported athletes, their parents and caregivers, and alumni, providing expert-led content, practical resources and a Life Skills Hub covering financial literacy, mental wellbeing and personal communication.
• Backing the Best

Quantifiable outcome

• 53 medals won by SportsAid alumni at Paris 2024 Olympic Games
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers7 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration7 records

Feature1 record

Partnerships

17 partnerships are on record, tiered secondary, core and minor.

• Dentsu Sports InternationalsecondaryStrategic or Co-development Partner · 12 March 2026New 2026 partnership announced as SportsAid celebrates its 50th anniversary. Dentsu Sports International will provide strategic, creative, and fundraising support throughout the year. Focus will be on driving awareness, strengthening fundraising activity, and spotlighting incredible young athletes.
• AldicoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2022Aldi UK provides young athletes with financial support, recognition, and personal development through its Rising Stars programme with SportsAid. Athletes receive annual awards for travel, accommodation, equipment, and nutrition. Aldi also delivers quarterly workshop sessions on healthy eating, performance nutrition, sleep management, mental wellbeing, and media training. Partnership renewed for 2025/26. Aldi is also promoting SportsAid's 'Get Set to Eat Fresh' programme.
• MarshsecondaryStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2021Marsh, the world's leading insurance broker and risk adviser, provides young athletes with £1,000 annual awards contributing towards travel, accommodation, and equipment costs. Marsh Sport is a specialist division offering insurance and risk management advice to the world of sport.
• EntaincoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2018Entain provides young British athletes with £1,000 annual awards and personal development opportunities. Currently helping 50 up-and-coming sports stars across 24 disabled and non-disabled disciplines. The partnership is part of Entain's multi-million pound investment into grassroots, community, and health projects through its CSR programme. Entain also established an independent Community Fund run by UK Community Foundation.
• Royal Bank of Canada (RBC)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2014RBC is one of SportsAid's most significant long-standing corporate partners since 2014, contributing more than £1.25 million in financial and developmental support. The partnership helps over 500 athletes with costs and challenges of progressing in sport. RBC provides company funding, employee fundraising, RBC Ride for the Kids, mentoring, specialist workshops, employee engagement, and wider development opportunities. RBC also powers SportsAid Connect digital platform.
• Elton John Sports FundcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2014The Elton John Sports Fund provides young British athletes with annual financial awards contributing towards training and competition costs such as travel, accommodation, equipment, and kit. Sir Elton John has a long-standing association with SportsAid stretching back to the late 1970s. Fund was launched by Rocket Sports Management in 2014. Previous beneficiaries include Olympic bronze medallist Daryll Neita and Team England cyclist Fred Wright.
• HogarthcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2012Hogarth, a world-leading marketing implementation agency, provides advertising production, TV editing, and post-production services on a pro bono basis for SportsAid. They produced the 'I Will' and 'Support The Next' films and the SportsAid Vault Podcast. The partnership underlines Hogarth's desire to support causes giving opportunities to young people.
• Sport EnglandcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSport England is a Government arms-length body and critical system partner of SportsAid. Sport England is the principal investor in the England Talent Pathway environment. SportsAid currently manages TASS (Talented Athlete Scholarship Scheme), Backing The Best programme, and DiSE (Diploma in Sporting Excellence) on behalf of Sport England. Sport England support enables SportsAid to build as an organisation and improve effectiveness.
• GLL Sport FoundationsecondaryStrategic or Co-development PartnerGLL is a leisure trust partner providing support to athletes. Listed as a corporate partner on the SportsAid website.
• GateleysecondaryStrategic or Co-development PartnerGateley is a listed as a corporate partner on the SportsAid website.
• Rocket Sports ManagementsecondaryStrategic or Co-development PartnerRocket Sports co-founded by Sir Elton John and Luke Lloyd-Davies in 2012. Launched the Elton John Sports Fund in 2014 to help support the next generation of British athletes. Provides athletes with support and leadership to help them achieve their ambitions.
• NelsonsminorOthersListed as a partner on the SportsAid partners page.
• Reed SmithminorOthersListed as a partner on the SportsAid partners page.
• SportsBeatminorOthersListed as a partner on the SportsAid partners page under Entain section.
• StravaminorOthersListed as a partner on the SportsAid partners page under Aldi section.
• Boost DrinksminorOthersListed as a partner on the SportsAid partners page under Aldi section.
• Get Living LondonminorOthersListed as a partner on the SportsAid partners page under Aldi section.

Scale indicators11 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Sport England: Non-departmental government body that is SportsAid's principal system partner and commissioner of TASS, Backing The Best, and DiSE. Overlaps in talent development objectives but operates as a much larger strategic and funding body across the whole of England.
• UK Sport: UK government's high-performance sport agency, the principal funder of elite Olympic and Paralympic preparation. Overlapping mission (supporting UK elite athlete success) but operates at a much larger scale with a broader portfolio, including direct funding of national governing bodies.

Regional players

• Access Sport: UK charity using sport to tackle inequality by providing access to community sport for under-served young people. Adjacent in combining charity funding, corporate partnerships, and youth sport delivery within the UK.
• Youth Sport Trust: UK children's charity focused on sport in education and youth development. Overlaps with SportsAid in targeting young people in sport, but its primary delivery is in schools rather than elite athlete support.

Direct peers

• Mary Peters Trust: Northern Ireland trust providing financial awards and support to young athletes — explicitly referenced as the regional partner delivering SportsAid's work in Northern Ireland. Closest geographic and programmatic peer, with the same award-based athlete support model.
• Dame Kelly Holmes Trust: UK charity supporting young people and athletes facing disadvantage through sport, using a mentoring and development model analogous to SportsAid's award-plus-workshop approach. Operates in the same beneficiary segment (young UK athletes) with overlapping corporate and trust funding sources.
• GLL Sport Foundation: UK athlete support programme (listed as a SportsAid corporate partner) providing financial awards to young athletes supported by GLL leisure centres. Highly comparable funding model and beneficiary profile.

Others

• Right To Play: International charity using sport and play for child development, with corporate partner programmes and athlete ambassador networks. Operates a much broader global footprint and is not a direct UK athlete-awards provider, but shares funding model and partner activation patterns.
• Commonwealth Games Federation: Governing body overseeing the Commonwealth Games and athlete development pathways across 72 nations. Overlaps with SportsAid in serving the Team England Futures programme and is an ecosystem participant in the UK talent pathway, but operates as a multi-sport governing body rather than a direct support charity.

Emerging players

• Laureus Sport for Good Foundation: Global foundation using sport to address social issues, including a UK presence (Laureus Sport for Good UK). Comparable in combining sport-development mission with corporate partner activation, but with a broader social-outcomes focus and international footprint.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/TeamSportsAid
• YouTubeyoutube.com/sportsaiduk
• Facebookfacebook.com/SportsAid
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/sportsaid
• Instagraminstagram.com/teamsportsaid/?hl=en

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about SportsAid