Best Practice in Sponsorship

Players partnered with Heineken USA to create the "Heineken Silver Summer Party Series."
The Heineken Silver Summer Party Series activated at leagues and events across 30 locations in Chicago, embedding the brand directly into programming through post-game parties, on-site sampling, DJ activations and coordinated marketing. Heineken became a functional part of the league and event experience, which helped Players turn up the SOCIAL dial at leagues and events.

Over the course of the series, Players served more than 60,000 cans and bottles of Heineken Silver. Featured locations saw increased engagement on league nights, while Heineken gained access to the Players audience and enjoyed enhanced "product-in-hand" brand awareness for their overall marketing efforts in Chicagoland.

Coordinating an entire organization to fully leverage a national sponsorship platform is no small undertaking. While the potential benefits for clubs of all sizes—and the overall return on investment—are significant, success depends on everyone sharing the same understanding of the opportunity. Although that alignment isn’t fully there yet, Justin has gone above and beyond, meeting with every club he can to explain the advantages and help them make informed decisions about participation. The initiative still has a long road ahead, but it would not have made it this far without his leadership.

We have numerous sponsorships that give our participants unique discounts wearing their league shirts or mentioning Everplay! (:

We wanted to show our Superstars engaging with Prime in a funny way. To match its branding. We received input from Prime that it is one of their best partnerships and has been shared with Logan Paul! Due to the "energy and fun feels" (both videos can be place together )

LI-Kick entered into a year's long sponsorship with C4 energy drink creating the triple win of bringing distribution to a brand, delivering in-demand products to players and revenue to LI-Kick.  Among the wins;

-2,000 cans were passed out on site.
-Players selected as 'MVPs' received c4 branded gear.
-c4 improved the new player experience by providing party packs for free agent teams.
-LI-Kick players were featured on C4's Instagram feed, Instagram story and other marketing materials.

C4 and LI-Kick's  shared focus ensured the sponsorship felt additive to the experience, reinforcing trust with players while authentically serving the sponsor’s goals.

FXA Sports is committed to keeping players, of all levels, in the game and that commitment goes well beyond the final whistle. To support athlete recovery and injury prevention, FXA partnered with R2P (Rehab 2 Perform), a modern physical therapy practice helping active adults “perform for life.”

Throughout 2025, R2P activated the partnership by attending all major FXA tournaments with their fully equipped mobile recovery truck, offering on-site recovery services including air compression boots! This was a meaningful, hands-on experience that directly supported athletes when they needed it most.

All players, but especially soccer players, enjoyed this perk and even waited in line between games to give it a shot. Some stated that it was a total game changer to get through the long tournament days. It was a benefit for all, including FXA staff, to wake up the next day feeling refreshed and recovered with no sore muscles!

Our partnership with ZOA stands out as the best sponsorship in the region because it delivered measurable business impact. Helping move the brand from last to first in Midwest sales; showing that the activation strategy didn’t just create visibility, it directly drove trial, repeat purchase, and real market growth, which is exactly what elite sponsorships are supposed to do.

The Chicago Sport and Social Club (CSSC) sponsor partnership with Diageo brands Casamigos and Captain Morgan in 2025 was a fully integrated partnership across three CSSC properties - CSSC, Big City Pickle, and Chicago Social Fitness. The annual partnership included onsite league, event, tournament, and facility activations, digital integration on websies, email, and social media communications, and over 200 samplings and activations at post-league and event bar partner on-premise accounts. The program also included numerous enhancements for CSSC and Big City Pickle participants including elevated co-branded equipment during play, elevated prizes for champions, and quality branded swag items to make the player experience more memorable and enjoyable, thanks to Casamigos and Captain Morgan. The partnership has been deemed a success by Diageo, resulting in a renewal of the program for 2026 after just the first 6 months.

Lexington Sports & Social Club partnered with professional soccer club Lexington Sporting Club in the Spring of 2025 to launch an innovative, fan-engagement–driven sponsorship that reimagined how recreational and professional sports audiences intersect. Rather than offering tickets as a traditional promotion, the partnership embedded Lexington Sporting Club tickets directly into league registration, seamlessly converting adult recreational players into professional fans at the point of purchase. This model intentionally merged participation and fandom, using shared facilities for our leagues and co-branded experiences like dedicated tailgates, a player ran fan club, and LexSSC specific sections of the stadium to create meaningful crossover between both audiences and promote a bigger sense of community. By aligning complementary customer bases, the partnership expanded our brand reach, strengthened community engagement, and provided a unique experience for our players to play at state of the art facilities without having to break the bank.

As a small-market club with limited staff, large national sponsorships are difficult to secure and can be a challenge to activate meaningfully. What has worked for us is partnering with local businesses that are deeply embedded in our community and genuinely aligned with our values. One of the best examples of this is our partnership with Optimize Hoboken.

While the sponsorship includes a flat fee and a commission for referrals, the true value of this partnership goes far beyond revenue. Optimize provides on-site support at gyms/fields several times each season, stretching, massaging, and treating players to help prevent injuries before they happen. When injuries do occur, they are often able to treat players immediately or guide them on the appropriate next steps.

When Optimize isn’t on site, our players still have access to a dedicated hotline, allowing them to speak directly with a doctor at any time. They can quickly schedule consultations, X-rays, or MRIs; often helping players avoid unnecessary and costly trips to the emergency room.

What truly sets Optimize apart is how closely their mission aligns with ours. Their office feels less like a traditional medical practice and more like a professional training room, filled with athletes coming and going. Their goal is to keep their patients active, healthy, and playing. Whether it’s an ankle sprain, pulled muscle, or chronic back issue, they regularly help players return to the field faster and stay pain-free. Over the years, we’ve lost countless players to lingering injuries; this partnership directly helps solve that problem.

Beyond health and performance, Optimize is deeply committed to building community. A visit to their office almost always leads to running into familiar faces; athletes, business owners, and local social media influencers alike. For our organization, it’s been an unexpected but powerful way to strengthen local relationships and expand our network.

This partnership is a clear example of how the right local sponsor can create real, lasting value not just for our club, but for every participant involved.