Sports Teams Trade Associations

American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA)

Largest professional community for baseball coaches at all levels, offering education, certification, advocacy and the sport’s biggest annual coaches convention.

https://www.abca.org Membership: 15,000

American Football Coaches Association (AFCA)

National organization dedicated to professional development, networking and advocacy for football coaches from high school to pro.

https://www.afca.com Membership: 11,000

Athletic Equipment Managers Association (AEMA)

Professional home for athletic equipment managers across pro, college and amateur sports, focused on safety standards, certification and best practices.

https://equipmentmanagers.org Membership: 1,000

Association of Luxury Suite Directors (ALSD)

The premium seating and venue hospitality network for teams and venues, providing year-round education, benchmarking and the ALSD Conference & Tradeshow.

https://www.alsd.com Membership: 1,500

College Sports Communicators (CSC)

Association for strategic, creative and digital communicators in college athletics; delivers education, recognition and advocacy for SIDs and creatives.

https://collegesportscommunicators.com Membership: 4,700

European Arenas Association (EAA)

Association of Europe’s leading indoor arenas, fostering collaboration on operations, guest experience and event hosting (sports and entertainment).

https://www.europeanarenas.com Membership: 41

European Club Association (ECA)

The sole representative body of professional football clubs in Europe, partnering with UEFA on governance, competition, and club development.

https://www.ecaeurope.com Membership: 700

European Leagues

Collective of Europe’s professional football leagues advocating for domestic competitions, competitive balance and league development.

https://europeanleagues.com Membership: 40

European Stadium & Safety Management Association (ESSMA)

Network uniting stadiums, clubs, leagues and suppliers around operations, safety, sustainability, ticketing, hospitality and pitch management.

https://essma.eu Membership: 350

Green Sports Alliance

Cross-sport coalition helping teams, leagues and venues advance environmental and social sustainability through Play to Zero, summits and resources.

https://www.greensportsalliance.org Membership: 230

International Association of Venue Managers (IAVM)

Global association for public assembly venue professionals (stadiums, arenas, universities), offering training, credentials and advocacy.

https://www.iavm.org Membership: 7,200

International Ticketing Association (INTIX)

Nonprofit association for ticketing professionals across sports, entertainment and venues; provides education, standards and an annual conference.

https://www.intix.org Membership: 1,000

National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC)

National association serving coaches at all levels of basketball with education, events and advocacy initiatives like Guardians of the Game.

https://nabc.com Membership: 5,000

National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA)

Largest association of collegiate athletics administrators, providing education, research and a convention for 20+ affiliate groups.

https://www.nacda.com Membership: 24,000

NFL Physicians Society (NFLPS)

Professional society of team physicians serving all 32 NFL clubs, advancing best practices in player health and safety.

https://nflps.org Membership: 190

Professional Hockey Athletic Trainers Society (PHATS) & Society of Professional Hockey Equipment Managers (SPHEM)

Joint associations for pro hockey athletic trainers and equipment managers (NHL, AHL, CHL, NCAA), focused on education, safety and standards.

https://www.phats-sphem.com Membership: 600

Sports Events & Tourism Association (Sports ETA)

Trade association for sports events and tourism, supporting sports commissions, DMOs and rights holders with research, education and dealmaking.

https://www.sportseta.org Membership: 850

Stadium Managers Association (SMA)

Trade group for stadium operators and partners, sharing best practices in safety, guest services, facility operations and revenue generation.

https://www.stadiummanagers.org Membership: 464

United Soccer Coaches

World’s largest coaches association, supporting the full soccer ecosystem with education, certifications, awards and the annual Convention.

https://unitedsoccercoaches.org Membership: 32,000

World Leagues Forum (WLF)

Global association of professional football leagues (multi-confederation) representing league interests in governance, calendars and labor dialogue.

https://www.worldleagues.com Membership: 45