How do you build an ambassador programme with amateur athletes?

By Tom Bogaert · Reviewed on
Part of: Creator marketing

By starting with one collab, not with a programme. A programme on paper starts with a list of criteria; a programme that works starts with 10 or 25 athletes who have already used your product. The industry describes four steps: define the profile, reach out, contract, support. We reverse the order: let them use it first, then choose.

How to build it with amateurs
  1. One collab as round 1. Briefing, applications from our pool, matching, you approve the squad. Eight weeks from briefing to content.
  2. See who delivers. Who actually used the product, who posted on time, whose audience responded, who fit the brand. It's in the report.
  3. Assemble the ambassador group. From the squad, together with us. Whoever drops out, we backfill from the pool.
  4. Choose rhythm and return. Monthly, quarterly or per drop; product plus a fee per round.
  5. Run rounds. Each round: new product, posting window, report. After every round you and the squad decide again.

What makes an amateur athlete different from a pro or a creator: no manager, no media kit and no rate card. They have a club, a Strava feed and an audience that knows them. That takes less negotiation and more follow-up, and the latter we do, per round, on one platform. What a brand ambassador programme is, and how a second round works.

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Related questions

How long does it take from briefing to a live collab?

Count on four to six weeks from signed briefing to first posts: application window (1-3 weeks) → curation + squad review (5-7 working days) → shipping (a few days to a week) → posting window (2-3 weeks). Working toward a fixed date, we count back.See the full timeline in weeks, from briefing to first posts →

Can an ambassadorship grow out of a collab?

Yes. A collab is the ideal audition: you see which athletes deliver, fit your brand and reach their audience — behavioural data, not a promise. From that proven group grows Sunday Squad Ambassadors: rounds with product and a fee, with size, rhythm and duration set per brand.Read the full answer →

How does a second round work with Sunday Squad Ambassadors?

Faster: of the eight weeks of a first collab, four disappear, because applications, search and selection are no longer needed. Round 2 is briefing, squad confirmation, shipping with fee, content and report.Read which four weeks disappear in a second round →

How do you select brand ambassadors?

On behaviour, not on reach. The industry selects from existing customers, nano/micro profiles in the niche and top performers from a gifting campaign. At Sunday Squad the collab is that first step: after the posting window you know who used, delivered and fit; you approve the line-up. Nobody becomesRead the full answer →

What if a sportfluencer doesn't post (on time)?

We carry that risk. Curation up front, agreements in the briefing, follow-up during the posting window and back-ups from the same pool — plus an honest completion rate afterwards: how many of the 25 actually delivered.Read how the three layers of risk management work in practice →
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