What Sportsground does

Sportsground is a privately held New Zealand cloud-software company, founded in 2007 and headquartered in Havelock North, that operates an integrated platform for organising school and sport communities across Australia and New Zealand. The company's core product, branded "Sporty," delivers national-scale websites with content management, member management, online registrations, eCommerce, and eNewsletters, supported by an integrated stack of add-on modules: SuperForms (consolidated registration databases), SuperCRM (member relationship management with Xero integration), SKED (competition draws and fixtures), Sport$pay (PCI-compliant online payments), AppointMe (referee and umpire scheduling), Single Sign-On, the Sporty Game Day App (live scoring), and iDMe (contactless sign-in for contact tracing). Separate sub-brands — Schoolground and School Sports Portal — extend the same architecture into the education vertical.

The platform is built as a multi-tenant cloud SaaS with mobile applications on iOS and Android, and is operated by a very lean team of 1–10 employees. Sportsground serves two principal customer segments: (1) national sports bodies, regional associations, and affiliated clubs across codes including rugby, netball, rugby league, touch rugby, and motorsport, with NZ Rugby Union, Netball NZ, NZRL, and Touch NZ as named enterprise customers; and (2) primary and secondary schools using Schoolground websites and the School Sports Portal.

Sportsground monetises through three streams: a freemium entry point of free online tools to attract sports organisations and schools, recurring subscriptions for premium platform access (pricing is quote-based and not publicly disclosed), and transactional fees on Sport$pay payment processing. Go-to-market is direct-sales-led via regional phone numbers in Australia and New Zealand, supplemented by a self-serve online funnel and a premium support tier for subscribing clients. The company remains privately held and bootstrapped beyond a single 2014 Callaghan Innovation grant of approximately NZD $107,044, with no institutional venture funding disclosed.

Name

Sportsground

Legal name

Sportsground.com

Website

https://sportsground.co.nz

Company type

Private

Founded year

2007

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Sportsground is a New Zealand-based cloud software provider offering an integrated platform of websites, member management, competition scheduling, payments, and mobile apps for sports organisations and schools across Australia and New Zealand.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Sports Administration Software

akta.pro primary industry

Sports Fundraising & Development Services (Foundations, NIL Collectives Support) (MPAKAKAK)

akta.pro secondary industry

Sports Compliance, Governance & Integrity Services (Safeguarding, Anti-Doping, Match Integrity) (MPAKAKAM)

Keywords

• Sports administration software
• Competition management system
• School sports platform
• Member management platform
• Online registration tools

Headquarters

HQ city

Havelock North

HQ country

New Zealand

HQ region

Oceania

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Operations

Revenue model

1. Platform Subscriptions: Subscription-based access to premium features including CMS websites, member management, competition management, and mobile apps
2. Transaction Fees - Sport$pay: Flat transaction fee for online payments including Visa/MasterCard fee. No set-up fee, no monthly ongoing fee, no hidden costs. PCI compliant with easy reconciliation.
3. Free Tools Entry Point: Large number of free online tools to attract sports organisations and schools, with premium paid services for full functionality

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Sportsground provides a cloud-based platform (Sporty) delivering websites with content management, online registrations, member management, competition scheduling, CRM, payment processing, and mobile applications for sports organisations and education providers across Australia and New Zealand. Offerings are modular, with national-scale CMS websites plus add-ons such as SKED Competition Management, SuperCRM, SuperForms, Sport$pay, AppointMe, Single Sign-On, Schoolground, School Sports Portal, and the Sporty Game Day App. The platform is sold via subscription and freemium, with official status from NZ Rugby Union, Netball NZ, NZRL, and Touch NZ.

Product overview

Sportsground operates as a platform-plus-modules architecture built on the Sporty online administration core system. The platform provides national-scale website content management with member management, eCommerce, eNewsletters, and online forms. Individual modules include SuperForms (database/registration forms), SuperCRM (customer relationship management), SKED Competition Management (competition fixtures and draws), Single Sign-On (authentication), Sport$pay (online payments), AppointMe (referee scheduling), and the Sporty Game Day App (live scoring). Separate sub-brands target education: Schoolground (school websites) and School Sports Portal (school sports administration). Mobile apps extend functionality to smartphones. The ecosystem is designed for sports organisations and education providers across Australia and New Zealand.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Carbon Zero Commitment: Environmental sustainability initiative commitment to become certified Carbon Zero
• SuperForms
• SKED
• AppointMe
• Sporty Game Day App
• Sporty Mobile App
• SuperCRM
• Sport$pay
• Schoolground
• School Sports Portal

Products and services

• Sporty Online Administration

Quantifiable outcome

• Millions of people use services annually

Named customers6 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration3 records

Feature11 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• NZ Rugby UnioncoreTechnology or IntegrationNZ Rugby Union officially chose Sportsground's SKED Competition Management system and AppointMe referee appointment system to manage all rugby referees for all games across New Zealand. This is a core strategic partnership where Sportsground provides the official competition management infrastructure.
• Netball NZcoreTechnology or IntegrationOfficial Competition Management system partner using SKED for netball competitions nationwide
• NZRL (New Zealand Rugby League)coreTechnology or IntegrationOfficial Competition Management system partner using SKED for rugby league competitions
• Touch NZcoreTechnology or IntegrationOfficial Competition Management system partner using SKED for touch rugby competitions

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• TeamSnap: US-headquartered team and league management platform serving clubs, coaches, and parents across many sports. Closest direct peer to Sportsground in functionality (team management, scheduling, payments, communications) though operating at much larger scale in North America.
• SportsEngine: Major US sports management platform owned by NBCUniversal, providing league websites, registration, scheduling, and mobile tools to youth sports organizations. Direct peer in vertical SaaS for amateur sports administration, with deeper enterprise and mobile feature set.
• LeagueApps: US sports league and club management platform covering registration, scheduling, payments, and communication. Direct peer competing in the same vertical SaaS niche of sports organization administration.
• Playmetrics: Youth sports club management platform providing registration, scheduling, communication, and club websites. Direct peer in the same vertical, focused on youth and amateur club administration.
• Stack Sports: US sports technology platform providing club, league, and tournament management software across multiple sports. Direct peer addressing the same club and governing-body workflows as Sportsground, though at significantly larger scale.
• Demosphere: US-based sports organization management platform offering websites, registration, scheduling, and communication tools to clubs, leagues, and associations. Direct peer in vertical SaaS serving amateur sports organizations.

Broad incumbents

• Active Network / CommunityPass: Large recreation management platform used by municipalities and recreation centers for activity registration and facility booking. Broad incumbent that overlaps with Sportsground's payments, registration, and member management functionality at municipal scale.
• Wild Apricot: Member management and website platform used by clubs, associations, and nonprofits globally. Broad incumbent offering general-purpose membership CRM, payments, and websites that compete with some of Sportsground's functionality for clubs outside elite governing-body mandates.

Emerging players

• Jersey Watch: Smaller US sports team and league management platform providing websites, scheduling, and registration. Emerging player with partial overlap, focused on the SMB/club segment that mirrors Sportsground's freemium funnel.

Regional players

• MyTeamPlay (Playy): Sports team and tournament management app popular in Southeast Asia. Regional player providing comparable team, scheduling, and communication functionality outside Sportsground's AU/NZ footprint.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/sportsground

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Sportsground