Sport Lived

What Sport Lived does

Sport Lived is a UK-based private company, founded in 2004 by Ian Dodd, that arranges sporting gap year programmes for young people (typically aged 18–30) in Melbourne, Australia. The company places participants with handpicked Australian sports clubs across eight sports — cricket, football, hockey, netball, rowing, rugby union, swimming, and tennis — for programme durations ranging from 11 to 25 weeks. Two programme types are offered: playing programmes (joining a local club as a participant) and coaching programmes (paid coaching placements at schools or aquatic centres, with minimum coaching rate guarantees of £15/hour for swimming).

The core product offering is a bundled service package priced between approximately £8,495 and £15,495, which includes sports club placement, shared 4-star city centre apartment accommodation in Melbourne, airport transfers, in-person local support, social events, sporting event tickets (e.g., Australian Open, Grand Prix), and assistance with visas, flights, and insurance. Sport Lived operates a direct-to-consumer distribution model with no intermediaries; customers book through the company website (sportlived.co.uk) or via phone and email enquiry, paying a non-refundable deposit with the balance due 12 weeks before programme start.

The company is registered as Sport Lived Limited in England and Wales (company number 5174136), headquartered in Nottingham, with an operations support office in Melbourne. It is founder-owned and operated without external institutional investment, employing 11–50 staff. Marketing is driven by content (blog success stories, customer testimonials), SEO, brochure lead generation, and word-of-mouth referrals. There is no proprietary technology platform, mobile app, or AI/ML capability — the business is fundamentally a relationship-driven service operation whose value rests on two decades of curated partnerships with Australian sports clubs, coaching organisations, and accommodation providers.

Name

Sport Lived

Legal name

Sport Lived Limited

Website

https://sportlived.co.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

2004

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Sport Lived is a UK-based gap year travel company, founded in 2004, that arranges 11–25 week sporting programmes in Melbourne, Australia, for individuals aged 18–30 across eight sports, combining club placement, coaching opportunities, accommodation, and local support.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Gap Year Sports Travel Programs

NAICS

All Other Amusement and Recreation Industries (71399)

SIC

Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900)

akta.pro primary industry

Sports & Active Travel Agencies (e.g., ski, golf, dive) (THAKAFAJ)

akta.pro secondary industry

Sports Team, Tournament & Training Travel (THAKAGAI)

Keywords

• Gap year sports programs
• Sports travel experiences
• International coaching placements
• Playing seasons abroad
• Youth sports travel

Headquarters

HQ city

Nottingham

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Gap Year Programme Fees: Sport Lived generates revenue through one-time programme fees charged to participants for sports gap year experiences in Australia. Programmes include sports club placement, accommodation, airport transfers, local support, social events, and various inclusions depending on the programme type (coaching vs. playing). Prices range from approximately £8,495 to £15,395 depending on programme duration (11-25 weeks) and type (coaching vs. full season).

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Sport Lived arranges structured gap year sports programmes in Melbourne, Australia, placing individual participants (typically aged 18-30) with handpicked local sports clubs for durations of 11 to 25 weeks. Programmes come in two variants—playing seasons (joining a club to compete/train) and coaching programmes (paid coaching placements at schools, aquatic centres, or clubs)—and bundle club placement, 4-star shared city centre accommodation, airport transfers, in-person local support, social activities, and event tickets (e.g., Australian Open, Grand Prix) for one-time programme fees ranging from approximately £8,495 to £15,395.

Product overview

Sport Lived offers a single unified gap year sports travel programme that places participants with sports clubs overseas. The core offering is the Gap Year Sports Programme, which provides structured placements of various durations (4-day, 12-week, and 21-week options) across different locations including Melbourne. Participants live and train with local sports clubs while experiencing life abroad. The company acts as an intermediary connecting young people seeking sports experiences with international sports clubs.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Swimming Coaching Programme Paid swimming coaching placement programme in Melbourne, Australia (11-25 weeks) for individuals with swimming coaching qualifications who want international paid coaching experience at schools, aquatic centres, or clubs. Includes paid coaching placement (minimum £15/hour), 4-star shared city centre accommodation, airport transfers, in-person Melbourne support, AustSwIM course, and police check. Prices from £8,895 (11 weeks) to £14,595 (25 weeks).
• Tennis Coaching Programme Paid tennis coaching placement programme in Melbourne, Australia (11-25 weeks) for qualified individuals seeking paid international coaching experience at Australian clubs or coaching organisations. Includes coaching placement, 4-star shared city centre accommodation, First Aid course, and Anaphylaxis training. Prices from £8,495 (11 weeks) to £14,195 (25 weeks).
• Tennis Mini Season (Playing Programme) Short-duration playing-season tennis programme in Melbourne, Australia (11-12 weeks) for individuals wanting to experience part of the Australian tennis season with a local tennis club. Prices from £9,495 (11 weeks) and £9,295 (12 weeks).
• Tennis Full Season (Playing Programme) Full-season tennis playing programme in Melbourne, Australia (24-25 weeks) for participants wanting the complete Australian tennis club experience, including club membership and training. Prices from £14,295 (24 weeks) to £15,395 (25 weeks).
• Swimming Mini Season (Playing Programme) Short-duration playing-season swimming programme in Melbourne, Australia (11-17 weeks) for individuals wanting to experience part of the Australian swimming season with a local swimming club. Prices from £9,295 (11 weeks) to £12,495 (17 weeks).
• Swimming Full Season (Playing Programme) Full-season swimming playing programme in Melbourne, Australia (24-25 weeks) for participants wanting the complete Australian swimming club experience, including membership and competitions. Prices from £14,395 (24 weeks) to £15,495 (25 weeks).

Quantifiable outcome

• Participants have gone on to achieve Olympic-level sporting success (e.g., George Nash - Olympic rowing bronze and gold medals, Tim Swinson - Scottish rugby 38 caps)
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Emerging players

• Frontier: Gap year and conservation volunteering organisation with some sports-adjacent programmes. Comparable in targeting gap year participants for international structured experiences, though focused on conservation and teaching rather than sport.

Broad incumbents

• Intrepid Travel: Established experiential travel company offering small-group tours worldwide. Comparable in serving experience-seeking younger travellers, though operating at much larger scale and broader scope than Sport Lived's sport-specialist niche.
• Contiki: Global youth travel brand offering experiential tours for 18–35 year olds. Overlaps in customer demographic and experiential travel positioning, though Contiki focuses on group tours rather than sport-specific placements.
• STA Travel: Former major youth and student travel brand serving 18–35 year olds with international programmes. Historically comparable in targeting student/gap year travellers, though now operating in a more limited capacity post-restructuring.
• EF Education First (Gap Year): Global education company offering structured gap year programmes abroad including sports and language immersion. Comparable in targeting gap year students with bundled international experiences, operating at much larger scale.

Direct peers

• Projects Abroad: Global gap year and volunteering organisation that offers sports coaching placements alongside other volunteer programmes. Comparable in targeting young people seeking international sports experiences with bundled accommodation and support.
• Sporting Opportunities: UK-based company that places participants in paid sports coaching roles abroad, including Australia. Directly comparable business model and customer base (18–30 year olds seeking sports coaching experiences overseas) to Sport Lived.
• The Gap Year Company: UK-based gap year provider arranging sports and adventure programmes overseas. Comparable customer segment (18–30 year olds) and bundled programme structure including accommodation and in-country support.
• Real Gap Experience: UK gap year specialist offering structured programmes abroad including sports, coaching, and adventure experiences. Comparable UK-based direct-to-consumer gap year operator with bundled travel and activity packages.

Others

• Rugby Australia Participation Programmes: National rugby union body offering participation and development programmes domestically in Australia. Comparable as a sports club host in Australia, though not a competing travel intermediary.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/sportlived
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/sport-lived-limited

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

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 Sport Lived