Florida Sports Foundation Awards Grants to 25 Florida Sports Events September 24, 2026 in Press Releases , Sport Tourism News The Florida Sports Foundation Board of Directors awarded 25 grants to Florida sports commissions at its September 17 Quarterly Board Meeting. The 25 grants totaled $974,500. The events represent 15 areas of the state and will bring in 272,352 out of state visitors to Florida for an estimated economic impact of $192,973,377.56. Of the 25 events, 13 sports are represented, along with a multi-sport festival. The events will take place between October and December, 2026. Leading the way among the 14 sports is six youth soccer tournaments. The sports receiving the grants include Auto Racing, Baseball, Billiards, BMX, Cheerleading, Cross Country, Fastpitch Softball, Football, Lacrosse, Offshore Boat Racing, Soccer, Triathlon and Volleyball. The funding for the Florida Sports Foundation (FSF) Grant Program is generated by the sale of Florida’s 10 professional sports license plates. Besides the funding for the Grant Program, the FSF donates 10% of each team plate to that team’s Youth Charity. In the 2025-26 fiscal year, the FSF donated over $217,000 to the 10 pro sports teams youth charities. Florida Sports Foundation First Quarter Grants Awarded October 8-19, 2026 Perfect Game WWBA (Baseball), Palm Beach County Sports Commission October 10, 2026 Strongman’s Championship League (SCL) USA Florida , Columbia County October 10-11, 2026 Englewood Beach Waterfest , Visit Punta Gorda/Englewood Beach/Charlotte County October 23-25, 2026 2026 AVP Grass Nationals (Volleyball) , Gainesville Sports Commission October 23-25, 2026 Tampa Bay Super Cup (Soccer), Tampa Bay Sports Commission October 31-November 1, 2026 PGF Show Me The Money Fall (Fastpitch Softball) , Gainesville Sports Commission, October 31-November 1, 2026 2026 UCI BMX Racing World Cup, Visit Sarasota County November 6-8, 2026 NASCAR Cup Series Championship , Greater Miami Convention and Visitors Bureau November 6-9, 2026 Girls Academy East Regional (Soccer) , Manatee County November 7-15, 2026 SEC Soccer Championship, Pensacola Sports November 7-21, 2026 Men’s Senior Baseball League (MSBL) Fall Classic , Palm Beach County Sports Commission, November 13-15, 2026 Backwards K College Exposure Showcase & Camp (Fastpitch Softball), Gainesville Sports Commission, November 20-22, 2026 IWLCA Presidents Cup (Lacrosse), Manatee County December 2-6, 2026 Snowball Derby (Auto Racing), Pensacola Sports December 2-6, 2026 USA Softball High-Performance Program National Selection Event, Treasure Coast Sports Commission December 3-6, 2026 American Youth Cheer, Experience Kissimmee Sports Commission, December 3-8, 2026 Elite Academy League Winter Event (Soccer) , Manatee County December 5-7, 2026 2026 ECNL Girls Florida (Soccer) , Greater Orlando Sports Commission December 5, 2026 2026 AAU Cross Country National Championships , Visit Tallahassee Sports December 5-12, 2026 UYFL Football and Cheerleading National Championships , Tampa Bay Sports Commission, December 7-13, 2026 Battle Youth Football National Championship , Palm Beach County Sports Commission December 10-15, 2026 United Soccer League (USL) Youth Finals , Tampa Bay Sports Commission December 11-13, 2026 Ironman Florida 70.3 , Polk County December 12-January 7, 2027 2026 Junior Orange Bowl International Youth Festival , Greater Miami Convention and Visitors Bureau December 15-21, 2026 2026 Pro Billiard Series Championship , Visit Jacksonville The deadline for FSF sports industry partners to submit grant applications to the Foundation for the second quarter of the 2026-27 fiscal year is October 10. The announcement of the second quarter grants will be made at the next FSF Board of Directors Meeting, on December 17. The Florida Sports Foundation is the official sports promotion and development organization of the State of Florida. Currently celebrating its 35 th Anniversary in 2026., The Foundation has been awarding grants to Florida sports events showing a significant out of state economic impact since 1996. September 29, 2026
Curated by Taleb Kabbara · Source: playinflorida.com