In many boardrooms, sponsorship has become harder to justify. Senior leaders see rising costs, fragmented audiences and slide decks full of logo placements, and sense that the equation is not working. Traditional sponsorship, built around visibility and hospitality, often struggles to compete with performance marketing, ESG priorities and internal pressure to demonstrate clear value. At the same time, sport has not lost its strength. It still moves people, shapes culture and

Each week, Athlium spotlights three collaborations that showcase how sport drives social and environmental change across the globe. This edition brings together a global airline and a football legend who open up elite events to young people who rarely get near them, an Australian football club and a family led charity who turn grief into a movement for better cancer outcomes, and a local ecosystem in Bradford that proves what happens when clubs, health agencies and sport bodi

The sponsorship landscape for athletes has shifted. Performance alone no longer determines commercial value. Athletes today compete not only with each other but with influencers, creators, and purpose-driven personalities who offer brands stronger narratives and more consistent audience engagement. Sponsors are becoming highly selective, favouring athletes who bring clarity of values, credibility, and relevance, not just results. This shift has created a simple truth: athlete

Each week, Athlium spotlights three collaborations that showcase how sport drives social and environmental change across the globe. This edition brings together a powerful mix of partners: a broadcaster and player-led foundation, reshaping the pathway for girls’ football, a retailer and kids’ TV network turning surprise makeovers into a lifeline for under-resourced youth teams, and a charity–betting partnership that has transformed football fandom into a life-saving CPR movem

Non-profits are facing a new reality. Brands are no longer willing to give away their hard-earned profits without a clear return—they expect partnerships where purpose and performance reinforce each other. As a result, grants are shrinking for organisations that lack commercial understanding, and traditional fundraising models are losing traction. Companies want partners who can create measurable value and meaningful engagement, not organisations positioning themselves as pas

Each week, Athlium spotlights three collaborations that showcase how sport drives social and environmental change across the globe. This week’s stories range from a La Liga club turning stadium waste into community sports infrastructure, to a national federation building climate action into every ticket and registration, to a continent-wide tournament using football as a tool for inclusion, skills and long-term social impact. Together, they show how smart partnerships can tur