The UBS Athletics Kids Cup is entering its third season with an ambition to inspire one million children across India to get active through sport. Following rapid growth in its first two years, the grassroots initiative is expanding its activities to new cities, scaling up its school-based model and systematically strengthening its nationwide ‘train-the-trainers’ programme to embed sport within the Indian education system over the long term.
Organised in India by Dspowerparts and supported by UBS, the initiative will be held across Mumbai, Pune, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad and Chennai, with additional cities expected to be added during the season.
Now entering its third year, the programme has expanded significantly since its launch, engaging hundreds of thousands of schoolchildren through athletics-based competitions focused on running, jumping and throwing.
The organisers said the one-million target represents the next major milestone, though it is not necessarily limited to the 2026 season. Alongside increasing participation, the focus remains on strengthening the overall ecosystem of delivery.
A key priority this year is the continued development of the ‘Train-the-Trainer’ programme, which is designed to equip physical education teachers with the tools required to run athletics activities in schools on a sustained basis.
The initiative is based on the model of Switzerland’s UBS Kids Cup, which has produced athletes such as indoor heptathlon world record holder Simon Ehammer, and aims to promote physical activity, health and personal development among children aged 7 to 15.
Competitions are conducted through schools, with participants progressing from local events to regional and city-level finals in a structured, multi-stage format.
The organisers position the programme as part of a broader effort to strengthen grassroots sport in India, where structured access to athletics remains limited for many children.