Birmingham launches youth sports league to enrich young lives

BIRMINGHAM – On Friday Birmingham Mayor Randall L. Woodfin announced the formation of the Birmingham Youth Sports League (BYSL), a new initiative designed to enrich the lives of young people through athletic training, mentorship, and academic support.

“This is a chance for Birmingham to support and enhance the youth sports experience across our city,” said Mayor Woodfin. “We’re not just building athletes, we’re building character, community, and opportunity.”

The league will launch this summer with football and cheerleading, with plans to expand to basketball, baseball, softball, and soccer in future phases. Official launch dates for these additional sports will be announced at a later date.

The program will be funded through $500,0000 of seed money from the Birmingham City Council. That money is apart of the city’s yearly budget and is expected to be approved by early July. The money will go towards team uniforms, equipment, coaches pay, and registration fees to help take the financial load off of parents.

“In many youth programs there’s not adequate training because resources are a challenge if we take away that burden provide the training support those coaches who are quality mentors in our community then that’s the best of both worlds for all of our kids and the folks in the community who patronize these programs,” said Cedric Sparks with the City of Birmingham.

City leaders say the mission of BYSL is rooted in the CEETA standard: character, excellence, equity, teamwork, and accountability. Beyond athletic training, the league will focus on providing life skills, conflict resolution strategies, and academic mentorship to participating youth.

This pilot project builds on recent efforts to revive city-run youth engagement programs like the Police Athletic Teams (P.A.T.) by the Birmingham Park and Recreation Board and Birmingham Police Department.

The independent Birmingham Crime Commission emphasized the importance of such programs in its January 6, 2025 report, recommending “reinvest in mentorship, education, and diversion programs to reduce juvenile crime and foster positive relationships. Re-implement the Police Athletic Teams (P.A.T.) and other proven youth engagement and mentorship partnerships.”