DUBAI, UAE, Dec. 5, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — On December 4, Chery held a signing ceremony with the organizing committee of the 2025 Asian Youth Para Games (AYPG) in Dubai. The event was attended by key dignitaries including Mr. Zhu Shaodong, Executive Vice President of Chery International, Mr. Majid Rashed, President of Asian Paralympic Committee, Mr. Saeed Hareb, Secretary General of Dubai Sport Council, Mr. Thani Juma Berregad, Chairman of DCD and Local Organising Committee – AYPG, and Mr Tarek Souei, CEO of Asian Paralympic Committee. Together, they announced Chery’s official role as the exclusive mobility partner for the Games. Under the theme “With CHERY, Born to Rise!”, this collaboration marks not only a deepening partnership between the two sides but also a strong recognition of Chery’s brand strength and values.

The 2025 AYPG, guided by the motto “Born to Rise,” champions the perseverance and fighting spirit of young athletes—a philosophy that resonates deeply with Chery’s “Little Thatched Cottage” ethos of “fearing no hardship and never giving up.” Zhu Shaodong remarked, “From our beginnings in 1997 to now ranking among the Fortune Global 500 and operating in over 120 countries and regions, This is Chery’s ‘rise.’ We look forward to cheering on the ‘rise’ of every young athlete on the field.”

Chery has previously built trust and shared purpose with Asian Paralympic organizations through initiatives such as supporting the Kazakhstan Children Paralympic Games and assisting with the General Assembly of Asian Paralympic Committee, paving the way for this cooperation. At the same time, Chery’s long-term commitment to core R&D has equipped it with solid technological expertise and a global research network. These capabilities not only fuel product innovation but will also be channeled into event support and training solutions, offering athletes a reliable platform to pursue excellence. Within its ESG framework, Chery further connects business growth with social value through collaborations with international bodies like the International Union for Conservation of Nature and UNICEF, actively fulfilling its corporate responsibilities.

A dedicated Chery team has now been formed to coordinate global resources in support of Games preparations. As the 2025 AYPG is approaching, Chery will stand alongside every athlete with technological strength and a sense of duty, driven by the shared conviction: “With CHERY, Born to Rise!”

Arsenal have agreed a deal to sign twins Edwin and Holger Quintero, with the 16-year-olds set to join the club when they turn 18 in August 2027. 

The Ecuador U17 internationals currently play for Independiente del Valle – the same club where current Arsenal first-teamer Piero Hincapie began his career.

Chelsea’s £115m midfielder Moises Caicedo also came through the ranks at Independiente del Valle.

Edwin is a left-footed right winger, with Arsenal describing him as a “quick and a skilful dribbler”.

Meanwhile, his brother Holger is a right-footed attacking midfielder who “links play with his progressive vision and also possesses the ability to beat opponents with quick feet”.

The club’s statement added: “We will be collaborating closely with Independiente del Valle on the development and well-being of both Edwin and Holger until they arrive at Arsenal.”

The transfer is subject to the completion of regulatory processes.

Analysis: Arsenal focusing recruitment on youth – and casting net wide

Sky Sports’ Nick Wright:

The signing of the Quintero twins is further evidence of an Arsenal recruitment drive geared towards youth. It follows the signing of goalkeeper Tommy Setford from Ajax and that of 16-year-old Irish forward Victor Ozhianvuna from Shamrock Rovers.

While those signings are intended to strengthen Arsenal’s academy sides initially, the club continue to look at young players who can go straight into the first-team squad too.

They have scouted Elche’s 21-year-old midfielder Rodrigo Mendoza, while Sky in Germany have reported interest in Eintracht Frankfurt’s 20-year-old winger Jean-Matteo Bahoya, although the Gunners are currently well-stocked in attacking areas.

The deal for the Quintero twins shows Arsenal are casting their net far and wide and suggests a focus on clubs known for their expertise in youth development.

Ecuadorian side Independiente del Valle count Arsenal’s Hincapie among their recent graduates. Chelsea’s Caicedo and Paris Saint-Germain defender Willian Pacho played in the age group above him.

Chelsea also plucked winger Kendry Paez from their youth set-up, but it’s Arsenal who have moved quickest in this instance.

Posted December 04, 2025 in Press Releases

GREATER CLEVELAND SPORTS COMMISSION TO HOST NIKE FREEZEFEST DEC. 6-7 WELCOMING 219 BOYS VOLLEYBALL TEAMS TO CLEVELAND

Two-day event to provide $2.1M in economic impact

WHAT: 2025 Nike FreezeFest

WHEN: Dec. 6-7, 2025

WHERE: Huntington Convention Center of Cleveland

300 Lakeside Ave
Cleveland, Ohio 44113

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Cleveland is serving up the 2025 Nike FreezeFest tournament for the second year in a row at the Huntington Convention Center of Cleveland Dec. 6-7. This event will bring 219 boys volleyball teams (ages 12-18) for a two-day showdown as teams battle for their age division championship.

The tournament is estimated to generate $2,100,000 in economic impact to Northeast Ohio.

Tickets are available online, ranging from $18 to $35. Children 9 and under are free. Spectators can purchase single or two-day passes. Doors open at 7 a.m. For the weekend schedule and more information about the tournament, click here.

Admissions / wristband pick-up will take place at the Huntington Convention Center of Cleveland:

• Friday, Dec. 5, 2025: 4-8 p.m.




• Saturday, Dec. 6, 2025: 6:30 a.m. – 6:30 p.m.

• Sunday, Dec. 7, 2025: 6:30 a.m. – 3 p.m.

For media inquiries, contact Ashleigh Holweger at ashleigh@thenikecircuit.com. Media check-in is located at the Tournament Desk.

This week on Sunday Journal we learn more about the Youth Athletic Foundation (YAF) founded by board member Pat Lentell. 

The Foundation funds sports equipment for students in need that otherwise might not have been able to participate in everything from soccer to ballet. 

School personnel and social service organizations coordinate with The Youth Athletic Foundation to identify children in need and make recommendations for funding.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 29:27 — 40.5MB)

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WFHB Sports Correspondent Chase Dodson takes a look at an IU sports memorabilia exhibit on display at the McCalla School. The exhibit, titled “Outfitting IU Athletics: Who’s Your Champion?” showcases various artifacts from IU’s sports history, including championship trophies, jerseys and personal items from notable athletes. Dodson speaks with curator Jeremy Hackerd who walks us through the exhibit.

Matthew Gravelle – Director, Stout

The U.S. youth sports industry has quietly become a multi-billion-dollar ecosystem and continues to grow at 8–10% per year. Beneath this expansion lies a rare convergence of fragmentation, predictable recurring spend, and accelerating digital transformation that together make youth sports a highly investable category. The sector is evolving from a cottage industry into a scalable, tech-powered platform economy. For investors, this represents a rare opportunity to capture growth in an emotionally durable, economically resilient, and still largely untapped market.

Since 2020, the youth sports industry has gone through a dramatic, two-stage transformation: an initial, painful contraction driven by pandemic lockdowns followed by a rapid rebound and structural acceleration that has attracted significant institutional capital.

The Last Five Years

The early shock of 2020 forced cancellations of leagues, camps, and tournaments, shuttered training facilities, and sent participation plunging. That shock was acute but short lived in many segments.

By 2022–2023, consumer demand returned and in several sub-segments, travel tournaments, specialized elite training, tech platforms that enable registration/communications/streaming, and event operators, the business model grew larger and more monetizable than before COVID.

Global spending on youth sports, which fell sharply in 2020, reached record levels by 2023 with the U.S. accounting for most of the rebound; one data point summarizing this trajectory shows global spending reaching roughly $64 billion in 2023 with the U.S. portion topping $43 billion.

Why the Resurgence?

Household economics explain much of this resurgence. Parents have demonstrated a greater willingness to pay for organized youth sports, and per-family spend increased noticeably in the post-COVID years.

The Aspen Institute’s Project Play family survey found that the average U.S. sports family spent about $1,016 on their child’s primary sport in 2024, an increase of roughly 46% compared with 2019, while total annual outlays per child (counting multiple sports and ancillary costs) commonly reach significantly higher levels.

This change in parental spending behavior has translated directly into more stable revenue streams for clubs, tournament operators, camps, and specialty service providers such as private coaches and skills academies.

Institutional and Private Equity Interest

Institutional and private equity interest has followed the money. Large, well-publicized transactions make the trend obvious. For example:

• The acquisition of IMG Academy by BPEA EQT in partnership with Nord Anglia in 2023 at approximately $1.25 billion signaled an appetite for premium training and campus-based sports education assets that combine real estate, seasonal programming and recurring tuition revenue
• KKR’s agreement to acquire Varsity Brands from Bain Capital for about $4.75 billion in 2024 underlined private equity attraction to vertically integrated apparel, uniform, competition and event businesses that generate steady order flows and have strong product line margins

Growth equity and PE have been equally active in the tech stack, for example:

• TeamSnap took a majority growth partner (Waud Capital) in 2021 to accelerate product development and M&A
• In 2025, Genstar Capital backed the combination of PlayMetrics and Stack Sports to create a consolidated leader in sports-management software, an explicit roll-up of registration, league management, and club services

These deals reflect two simultaneous investment theses: buy premium consumer experiences (camps, academies, large event brands) and consolidate high-margin technology platforms that can scale and provide operating leverage across local businesses.

Revenue Dynamics

Revenue dynamics within the sector vary by sub-segment.

Tech/SaaS

Technology platforms and SaaS products that enable registration, scheduling, communications, and live/video services can show high revenue growth and attractive gross margins. Platform play and streaming investments are a good example, like the growth of Dick’s Sporting Goods’ GameChanger, which by some accounts was projected to produce meaningful revenue and engage millions of users annually.

Events/Tournaments

Event and tournament operators capture registration fees, sponsorships and travel-driven ancillary revenue that scale quickly when national or regional circuits are built.

Franchises/Programs

Franchise and program businesses (multi-location academies, camps and enrichment brands) generate relatively predictable tuition and membership revenue. When those companies consolidate, they unlock procurement benefits, centralized marketing, and cross-sell of higher-margin services.

Apparel/Equipment

Meanwhile, apparel and equipment companies such as Varsity/BSN retain steady product revenue with the added upsell of uniforms and competition merchandise throughout the season.

Competition in the Sector

Competition is fragmented and multi-layered. At the local level, there are thousands of clubs, recreational leagues, small academies, and independent coaches competing primarily on price, convenience, and perceived coaching quality.

At the regional and national level, event organizers and tournament circuits compete for prestige, ideal dates/venues, and travel teams. National incumbents include tech platform companies (TeamSnap, Stack Sports/PlayMetrics, SportsEngine/NBC Sports Next) that provide the plumbing for many smaller operators and therefore benefit from network effects and stickiness.

Apparel and equipment providers (BSN/Varsity and large retailers) compete on wholesale distribution and brand relationships with schools and clubs. Newer entrants, such as start-up platforms focused on livestreaming, automated highlights, analytics, and sponsorship marketplaces, are attacking adjacent revenue pools and creating new monetization pathways for clubs and parents.

This landscape means that scale matters: larger platforms can bundle services (registration, payments, streaming, sponsorship sales) and present a one-stop experience that is harder for a single local club to replicate.

Looking Ahead

Looking ahead three to ten years, the market is likely to follow several intertwined trajectories.

The Near-Term

In the near term (three years), consolidation of service providers and platforms will accelerate. Private equity and strategic buyers will continue to pursue roll-ups of regional club networks, tournament operators, and tech platforms to extract cost synergies and centralize functions such as payments, procurement, and marketing.

Platform consolidation will create a smaller set of robust SaaS providers that serve as the operating systems for youth sports. Investors will prize companies that demonstrate recurring revenue, low churn, disciplined customer acquisition (CAC) and strong unit economics.

Evidence for this near-term consolidation thesis is already visible in recent transactions where private equity firms have combined or invested in platform plays and event portfolios.

The Next 5-10 Years

Over a slightly longer horizon (5–10 years), the sector will bifurcate between commoditized participation offerings and premium, differentiated experiences. Commoditized activities (basic recreational leagues and local clubs) will face price pressure and margin compression because of competition and lower barriers to market entry. Premium camps, elite academies, and branded national tournament circuits will consolidate higher spending families and sponsors and will be valued more highly by investors.

Technology will be a force multiplier: analytics, athlete development platforms, automated highlights and content monetization will enable companies to extract additional lifetime value from athletes and their families, and to create new sponsorship and media revenue.

Digital products that drive engagement (streaming, highlights, coaching content) will play a growing role in monetization and fan development.

Risks Shaping Outcome

Two risks will shape outcomes. First, affordability and access remain politically and socially sensitive; continued increases in per-child cost risk participation substitution or attrition among lower-income families, which could limit top-line growth if left unaddressed.

Second, regulatory, safety and liability issues (coach background checks, concussion protocols, and facility standards) will require sustained investment and can slow roll-up velocity if integration cannot quickly meet compliance thresholds. Companies that can demonstrate both inclusive pathways (scholarships, lower-cost offerings) and robust compliance frameworks will be advantaged in M&A processes.

Outlook

Youth sports is evolving from a local, fragmented pastime into a digitally monetized, media-rich ecosystem. The convergence of NIL rights, streaming technology, AI analytics, and platform consolidation is expanding the market’s economic ceiling and accelerating professionalization.

Investors positioned at this inflection point can capture value from an industry moving beyond participation fees into content, data, and technology-driven monetization a structural evolution that mirrors the early-stage digitization of traditional sports, fitness, and entertainment sectors.

Matthew Gravelle has over 20 years of experience integrating finance and accounting departments from pure numbers toward an operational and strategic model. He has been successful in business transformations through his ability and willingness to collaborate with all functions within a business, think strategically, display strong leadership instincts, and exhibit solid interpersonal skills. He believes the future of finance is about expanding beyond the historical data and analysis to providing real-time, actionable insights that are valuable across all parts of a business.

Matt has deep experience across a number of strategic finance functions (specifically FP&A, financial planning, business partnering, strategic decision support, and growth analysis) in both well-developed finance organizations and private equity-backed organizations that are moving from infancy to mature stages. He has stood up finance departments, overhauled people and systems, and redesigned what good reporting and analysis can be. He also has expertise in strategic business support in the areas of cost optimization, revenue management, budget and long-range plan development, developing KPIs, value creation, and operational finance.

Throughout his career, Matt has worked with executive leadership teams to ensure that finance has a presence across all functions of an organization to make better decisions. Examples of these are when he worked on relocating customer services centers from three international sites to one centralized location, converted the majority of office-based setting outpatient centers to ambulatory surgical centers to recapture reimbursement loss from a significant CMS decision, and reimagined a company’s value proposition by shifting away from a historically safe low margin vertical to a higher margin vertical that had more competitors and barriers to entry. Matt has helped businesses evaluate risks and rewards as well as understand which risks are worth taking and how they can be mitigated.

Prior to joining Stout, Matt held several senior finance positions spanning the industries of government contracting, financial services, publishing, and data analytics. Matt spent the past 10 years focused on the multisite healthcare industry: first at Azura Vascular Care (a division of Fresenius) and then two CFO stints with private equity-backed companies. Matt began his career at Lockheed Martin, where he completed their Financial Leadership Development Program.

YSBR provides this content on an “as is” basis without any warranties, express or implied. We do not assume responsibility for the accuracy, completeness, legality, reliability, or use of the information, including any images, videos, or licenses associated with this article. For any concerns, including copyright issues or complaints, please contact YSBR directly.

About Youth Sports Business Report

Youth Sports Business Report is the largest and most trusted source for youth sports industry news, insights, and analysis covering the $54 billion youth sports market. Trusted by over 50,000 followers including industry executives, investors, youth sports parents and sports business professionals, we are the premier destination for comprehensive youth sports business intelligence.

Our core mission: Make Youth Sports Better. As the leading authority in youth sports business reporting, we deliver unparalleled coverage of sports business trends, youth athletics, and emerging opportunities across the youth sports ecosystem.

Our expert editorial team provides authoritative, in-depth reporting on key youth sports industry verticals including:

• Sports sponsorship and institutional capital (Private Equity, Venture Capital)
• Youth Sports events and tournament management
• NIL (Name, Image, Likeness) developments and compliance
• Youth sports coaching and sports recruitment strategies
• Sports technology and data analytics innovation
• Youth sports facilities development and management
• Sports content creation and digital media monetization

Whether you’re a sports industry executive, institutional investor, youth sports parent, coach, or sports business enthusiast, Youth Sports Business Report is your most reliable source for the actionable sports business insights you need to stay ahead of youth athletics trends and make informed decisions in the rapidly evolving youth sports landscape.

Join our growing community of 50,000+ industry leaders who depend on our trusted youth sports business analysis to drive success in the youth sports industry.

Stay connected with the pulse of the youth sports business – where industry expertise meets actionable intelligence.

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Are you a brand looking to tap into the world’s most passionate fanbase… youth sports?

Introducing Play Up Partners, a leading youth sports marketing agency connecting brands with the power of youth sports. We specialize in youth sports sponsorships, partnerships, and activations that drive measurable results.

About Play Up Partners

Play Up Partners is a leading youth sports marketing agency connecting brands with the power of youth sports. We specialize in youth sports sponsorships, partnerships, and activations that drive measurable results.

Why Sponsor Youth Sports?

Youth sports represents one of the most engaged and passionate audiences in sports marketing. With over 70 million young athletes and their families participating annually, the youth sports industry offers brands unparalleled access to motivated communities with strong purchasing power and loyalty.

What Does Play Up Partners Do?

We’ve done the heavy lifting to untangle the complex youth sports landscape so our brand partners can engage with clarity, confidence, and impact. Our vetted network of accredited youth sports organizations (from local leagues to national tournaments and operators) allows us to create flexible, scalable programs that evolve with the market.

Our Approach

Every partnership we build is rooted in authenticity and value creation. We don’t just broker deals. We craft youth sports marketing strategies that:

• Deliver measurable ROI for brand partners
• Create meaningful experiences for athletes and families
• Elevate the youth sports ecosystem

Our Vision

We’re positioning youth sports as the most desirable and effective platform in sports marketing. Our mission is simple: MAKE YOUTH SPORTS BETTER for athletes, families, organizations, and brand partners.

Common Questions About Youth Sports Marketing

Where can I sponsor youth sports? How do I activate in youth sports? What is the ROI of youth sports marketing? How much does youth sports sponsorship cost?

We have answers. Reach out to info@playuppartners.com to learn how Play Up Partners can help your brand navigate the youth sports landscape.

Youth sports organizations: Interested in partnership opportunities? Reach out to learn about our accreditation process.