World Academy of Sport

What World Academy of Sport does

World Academy of Sport Services Ltd (trading as WAoS) is a UK-incorporated, Manchester-based education provider founded in 2005 that delivers professional development and certification programmes for the global sports industry. Its customer base spans sport-industry professionals (coaches, officials, classifiers, managers, athletes), National Sporting Associations, and — through a more recent push — secondary schools implementing career-related programmes such as the IB Career-related Programme (IBCP). WAoS structures its offering across five programme areas: Online Education, Athlete Education, Technical Education, Management Education, and Certification.

The company's core technology is the Censeo-powered learning management platform, which integrates modules including eLearning Builder, Course Builder, Form Builder, Competency Transcript Builder, Pathway Builder, Assessments Builder, Digital Credentials (Open Badges), Renewals & Licensing, Organisations Hub, and an eBook Reader. The platform supports SCORM courses, white-labelled delivery to partner academies, and integrates with Stripe, Flywire, QuickBooks, and Microsoft 365. Product cadence has been continuous since 2022, with major releases including Censeo 3.0 (Feb 2022), Global Survey and Insights (Jan 2024), Renewals & Licensing (Feb 2025), Assessments Builder (Apr 2025), Accreditations (May 2025), Organisations Hub (Apr 2026), and Digital Credentials (Jun 2026).

WAoS monetises through course participation fees, certification fees, and recurring licensing via the Renewals & Licensing system, distributed via three channels: a self-serve online platform for individual learners, direct sales of face-to-face courses to enterprises, and white-label/OEM partnerships with National Associations and academies. Distribution is increasingly partnership-led — most prominently through National Sporting Associations, whose data WAoS also aggregates through its Global Survey and Insights module. A new channel into Indian secondary schools was established in 2026 via IBCP Confluence (Mumbai) in partnership with World Academy of Career Programmes, expanding WAoS beyond its traditional sport-federation base.

Name

World Academy of Sport

Legal name

World Academy of Sport Services Ltd

Website

https://worldacademysport.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2005

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

251–500 employees

Short description

World Academy of Sport (WAoS) is a Manchester-based education provider operating the Censeo learning management platform to deliver accredited sport-industry training, certification, and digital credentials to professionals, National Sporting Associations, and schools in over 20 programme areas.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Sports Education and Professional Development

NAICS

Sports and Recreation Instruction (61162), Professional and Management Development Training (611430)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Coach Education, Certification & Clinics (HSADAEAO)

akta.pro secondary industry

Referee, Umpire & Coach Education/Certification Academies (MPAKAJAN)

Keywords

• Sport industry education
• Athlete training programmes
• Coaching certification
• Learning management platform
• Professional sport development

Headquarters

HQ city

Manchester

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Course Fees: WAoS generates revenue through course participation fees. The company provides courses online and in-person, with fees required to be paid before participation. Payment methods include Stripe, QuickBooks, and Flywire payment gateways. Courses include both free and paid options with varying levels of certification.
2. Certification Fees: Upon successful completion of assessed courses, learners may be entitled to receive certifications. The benefits and terms applicable to certifications vary, and certification may be subject to expiry, revocation, or modification.
3. Accreditation Services: The company offers accreditation services to organisations by assigning different accreditation levels, which can be displayed on academy landing pages.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

World Academy of Sport delivers education programmes for athletes, coaches, officials, classifiers, managers, and administrators in the sport industry, organised across five programme areas: Online Education, Athlete Education, Technical Education, Management Education, and Certification. Programmes are delivered both online via the Censeo-powered learning platform and in-person at venues, with assessment, certification, accreditation, renewals, and digital credentials (Open Badges) for individuals and partner organisations.

Product overview

World Academy of Sport (WAoS) operates a multi-module education platform for sports professionals, offering five programme areas: Online Education, Athlete Education, Technical Education, Management Education, and Certification. The platform integrates multiple components including CENSEO (learning management system), AFEC, PGC, and WAOS Study Centre, accessible through role-based dashboards. Key capabilities include Digital Credentials with Open Badges, Assessments Builder for Knowledge Tests, Renewals & Licensing System, eBook Reader, and administration builders (Course Builder, eLearning Builder, Competency Transcript Builder, Pathway Builder, Form Builder). The platform supports organisations with an Organisations Hub for multi-organisation management, and includes white labelling features.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Online Education Programmes Educational programmes delivered via internet enabling targeted sports training and education for participants across the sport industry.
• Athlete Education Programmes Programmes equipping athletes with knowledge for the modern sporting world and beyond, including career preparation, delivered to participants across global sport contexts.
• Technical Education Programmes Training programmes for coaches, officials, and classifiers delivered to exacting professional standards within the sport industry.
• Management Education Programmes Programmes equipping managers with knowledge for the modern sporting world and supporting executive development within sport organisations.
• Certification Programmes Rigorous certification process for each programme within the WAoS portfolio, including accreditation capabilities for partner organisations, with recognition via digital credentials and renewals.
• CENSEO Learning Platform Cloud-based learning management system providing eLearning features, course builder, assessments, competency transcripts, pathway builder, and white-labelling capabilities for sports education programmes, accessible via the WAoS dashboard.

Named customers3 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

Yes

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration4 records

Feature8 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and major.

• Censeo (Censeo Learning)coreTechnology or IntegrationCenseo is the underlying learning management platform technology powering the WAoS Academy. The Censeo platform provides white-labelling capabilities, eLearning Builder, Course Builder, Form Builder, and other administrative tools. WAoS dashboards and learning experiences are powered by Censeo technology. The partnership is integral to WAoS's service delivery.
• National Sporting AssociationscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerWAoS works with National Associations to deliver education programmes, gather data, and generate insights. The platform's Global Survey and Insights feature enables associations to collect and analyse data from their members. This partnership forms a key part of WAoS's distribution and content delivery strategy.
• World Academy of Career ProgrammesmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAffiliated organisation that organised IBCP Confluence 2026 in Mumbai, bringing together Indian school leaders to discuss implementing the IB Career-related Programme. This partnership expands WAoS's reach into the Indian education market.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Censeo Learning: Underlying LMS technology powering the WAoS Academy. Censeo offers the same learning management, course-building, assessment and white-labelling capabilities to sports and other sector clients, making it the closest direct competitor in platform category and feature set.
• UK Coaching: UK-based national body for coach education and certification, delivering sport-specific learning programmes to coaches across the UK. Closely comparable target audience, content focus, and certification function to WAoS's Technical and Management Education streams.

Broad incumbents

• Hudl: Sports performance platform used across elite and amateur teams for video analysis, training and athlete development. Overlaps with WAoS in serving coaches and athletes with learning and development tooling, but operates at much broader scale and across video-first workflows.
• Catapult Sports: Elite athlete performance monitoring platform used by professional teams worldwide. Comparable in targeting sports professional development workflows, although its primary offering is tracking hardware and analytics rather than education and certification.

Emerging players

• CoachUp: US-based marketplace connecting private coaches with athletes, with training and certification features. Comparable end customer (coaches and athletes) but focused on transactional coaching delivery rather than formal sport-industry professional education.
• SkillShark: Athlete evaluation and skill-development platform adopted by academies, coaches and sport organisations. Comparable in serving the same coach-athlete-skill-development segment with digital assessment and reporting tooling that increasingly intersects with certification.

Others

• Credly: Digital credentialing platform built on the Open Badges standard. Directly comparable to WAoS's Digital Credentials release (June 2026), serving organisations that issue verifiable credentials across industries including sports and professional education.
• Open Badge Factory: Open Badges-based digital credentialing platform used by sport federations and education providers. Competes with WAoS Digital Credentials at the credential issuance and verification layer, often integrating with partner LMS systems.
• Thought Industries: Enterprise LMS purpose-built for monetised professional training, certification and continuing education programmes. Comparable in serving organisations that deliver paid, certification-bearing learning at scale, with adjacent business model to WAoS.
• Sportlyzer: Sports club and training management platform covering scheduling, player development and skill assessment for clubs and academies. Overlaps with WAoS workflows around training delivery and athlete progression, although positioned at club operations rather than industry-wide certification.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/world-academy-of-sport

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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 World Academy of Sport