The inaugural two-day SPX Purpose League Summit, taking place at Brentford FC’s Gtech Community Stadium on 15 and 16 October, will bring together more than 20 speakers from across sport, sponsorship, finance and sustainability under the theme The Business Case for Purpose.

Convened by SponsorshipX and purpose-led sports marketing, advisory and investment firm 17 Sport, the event represents the first two-day gathering of the Purpose League, which was launched in Toronto in November 2025.

From purpose to investment

At the heart of the summit is an increasingly important question for sport: can purpose move beyond corporate commitments and individual campaigns to become an integral part of commercial decision-making?

The scale of the opportunity – and risk – is significant. According to figures cited by the organisers from the World Economic Forum’s 2026 Sports for People and Planet report, sport generates US$2.3 trillion annually, but physical inactivity, climate change and nature loss could put US$517 billion of that revenue at risk by 2030 and US$1.6 trillion by 2050.

Neill Duffy, Founder and CEO of 17 Sport, believes the industry needs to make the connection between societal impact and commercial value much clearer.

“Sport can create commercial value while strengthening the communities and environments it depends on. We’re here to make that value measurable and investable, so purpose becomes part of sponsorship decisions and how growth is judged. This summit convenes people who can turn that ambition into a working model for the industry.”

That emphasis on “measurable and investable” purpose could prove particularly significant. Sustainability and social impact have become increasingly visible across sport, but demonstrating how those activities contribute to long-term commercial performance remains one of the sector’s biggest challenges.

Putting purpose to work

The summit has been designed to move beyond discussion and into practical application.

Alongside presentations and peer sessions, delegates will take part in a two-day team challenge involving community partners Hackney Laces and Kinetic Foundation. Participants will visit the organisations, understand their work and examine a live sponsorship challenge before developing recommendations to present back to the wider group.

The programme will also examine the changing role of sponsorship and how purpose can drive engagement and commercial performance.

Speakers include Guillaume Sabran and Filippo Veglio of UEFA, Thomas Bulitta of Lidl International, Dana O’Donovan of Deloitte and Richard Ames of The FA. Discussions will range from what finance teams require from purpose-led investment to how sustainability is being implemented across sport.

A stronger model for sponsorship

For Mark Harrison, Founder of SponsorshipX, the ambition is to demonstrate that purpose should not sit separately from commercial strategy.

“Purpose can become one of sponsorship’s strongest engines for growth. In London, we’re bringing senior leaders together to apply their experience to live community challenges and turn what they learn into stronger partnerships for business, sport and society. That is what the Purpose League was created to do.”

The proposition reflects a wider shift taking place across the sports industry. The question is increasingly not whether organisations should address social and environmental challenges, but whether they can demonstrate the impact created and connect it convincingly with commercial value.

If purpose-led sponsorship can deliver stronger communities, greater engagement and measurable returns while directing investment towards participation, inclusion and environmental action, it potentially becomes far more than a sustainability initiative.

It becomes part of the business model.

Canadian Tire Jumpstart Charities is the Founding Partner of the SPX Purpose League Summit, with Global Sustainable Sport supporting the event as Media Partner.