This summer’s TIME100 Sports debut introduces not only a new platform honoring the most influential figures in sports, but also built on a dream-team partnership. As TIME’s 2026 Inaugural Design Partner, Target is bringing the intersection of style, design, and value to four marquee events including TIME Women of the Year Leadership Forum & Gala, TIME100 Creators, TIME100 Next, and TIME100 Sports.
TIME100 Sports is a new addition to TIME’s lineup of marquee events and Target’s partnership elevated the star-studded event through the lens of style, design, and making sports fandom more accessible and meaningful to all. “Incredible partners like Target help elevate these experiences and extend their impact far beyond a single evening,” says TIME CEO Jessica Sibley. “As we continue to grow our global events portfolio, Target brings a distinctive creative perspective that will complement and elevate these experiences for our audiences. Together, we’re enhancing how guests engage with our most important moments in 2026 while extending their impact across platforms.”
This idea that great design outlasts the moment it was built for runs through everything Target brings to this partnership, from thoughtful event touches and a sneak peek at a new Target-exclusive sports lifestyle assortment to curated gift packages. Even Bullseye the dog made a surprise red carpet appearance, delighting attendees. Together, Target’s creative expertise and TIME’s storytelling reach make a natural pairing, one built to make big moments feel personal.
“Target is so proud to partner with TIME to celebrate this year’s TIME100 Sports honorees and recognize the intersection that sports and style have on today’s culture,” said Cassandra Jones, SVP of Fun101 at Target. “The esteemed honorees inspire millions of our guests and their families—including mine—to dream a little bigger, work a little harder, and believe that tomorrow can be better than today.”
A Category Built on More Than Gameday
For Target, the deepening intersection of sports and culture has transformed the category beyond a single aisle. As part of its merchandising strategy to celebrate the fandoms shaping culture, the retailer is doubling its sports assortment, nearly doubling in-store space dedicated to the category, and pushing forward with committing to an expansion of 1,600 Fan Shops by October.
Jones knows today’s fan experience isn’t just about the game itself, but everything that surrounds it. In her toast to TIME100 Sports honorees, Jones described the quiet, ordinary moments that shape a fan’s relationship long before the highlight reel.
“Your influence doesn’t live inside arenas or stadiums,” Jones said. “It lives within the hearts of our guests. It lives in kitchens where parents are packing snacks before practice. It lives on neighborhood sidewalks where a child is dribbling a basketball until the streetlights come on.”
Target’s approach to meet consumers’ desire to express themselves through fandom culture includes more trend-forward products and design at a great value. With the magic of Target, design, style, and accessibility can work together.
Where Community Comes First
TIME100 Sports celebrates leaders shaping the future of sports—not only through athletic achievement, but through their cultural and community impact. That mission aligns naturally with Target’s longstanding commitment to strengthening communities through partnerships with sports teams, athletes, and local organizations, backed by its 5% profit-giving commitment and annual goal of one million volunteer hours.
For Jones, it all comes back to the same idea of influence; not the kind measured in headlines, but in the people it reaches. “Somewhere tomorrow morning, someone will lace up their shoes because of you,” she said. “Someone will decide not to quit because of you.”
Target’s community commitment isn’t limited to professional team partnerships. This summer, it also showed up in Target parking lots with The Summer Goals Tour, bringing World Cup energy directly to families in four host cities ahead of major tournament matches. No ticket, no arena—just a neighborhood Target parking lot turned into a full day of fandom. It’s the same instinct behind the development of their Fan Shops and store redesigns: make the moment feel big, and make it accessible and personal to whoever walks in.
What’s Next
As TIME100 Sports makes its debut, the world will honor the most influential athletes, coaches and advocates of 2026. Just as these leaders are reshaping the world of sports, Target remains committed to demonstrating how style and everyday value can elevate the fan experience for everyone.
This collaboration between Target and TIME proves the power of design when it’s built around more than visibility—when the goal, as Jones put it, is to help people “believe that tomorrow can be better than today.”
