Sporta Tours

What Sporta Tours does

Sporta Tours (legal entity Sport Arabia Ltd., Companies House No. 06188632) is a UK-based sports tour operator founded in 2006 and headquartered in East Sussex. The company designs and delivers end-to-end overseas sports tours for three core customer segments: UK and international schools, amateur sports clubs, and professional cricket teams and boards. Its service covers flights, accommodation, ground transfers, match and fixture arrangements, venue hire, match officials, excursions, on-ground support, and compulsory group travel insurance, priced on a per-person basis with deposit and instalment structures. The product portfolio is anchored by a set of owned tournament properties — notably the ARCH Tournament (rebranded the Abu Dhabi Schools International Cup, ADSIC), the Girls' ARCH Cricket Festival, the U18 Sporta Football Trophy, the Malta Netball Tournament, and CrickFest — alongside bespoke training camps for professional teams and a new ski package vertical launched for 2026/2027.

The technology stack is a service-delivery platform rather than a software product: a content-rich website handling sport- and destination-specific enquiries, a CRM/operations layer supporting Tour Leader interactions, and integration with Howden Insurance for a co-branded group travel policy covering 100+ sports. The business holds ATOL licence 9684, ABTOT membership 5670, School Travel Forum Assured status, and the Learning Outside the Classroom Quality Badge, all of which are prerequisites for serving UK schools.

Commercially, Sporta operates a sales-led, event-driven go-to-market. It uses a global network of ground agents, venues (ICC Academy, Abu Dhabi Cricket & Sports Hub, Zayed Cricket Academy, The Sevens Stadium, La Manga Club), and opposition teams across 15+ destination countries to assemble tours. The company is privately held with no disclosed institutional funding, no parent company, and no M&A history; it is led by Director Matthew Jackson and a small named team covering sales and operations.

Name

Sporta Tours

Legal name

Sport Arabia Ltd.

Website

https://sportatours.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2006

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Sporta Tours is a UK-founded (2006) sports tour operator that organises overseas tours, training camps, and tournaments for schools, clubs, and professional cricket teams across 15+ destinations, anchored by its own event properties such as the Abu Dhabi Schools International Cup.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Sports Travel and Tour Services

NAICS

Tour Operators (561520)

SIC

Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900)

akta.pro primary industry

Sports Team, Tournament & Training Travel (THAKAGAI)

akta.pro secondary industry

Sports Travel, Logistics & Team Operations Services (MPAKAKAI)

Keywords

• Sports tour operator
• School sports tours
• Cricket training camps
• International sports tournaments
• Group travel packages

Headquarters

HQ city

Eastbourne

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Sports Tour Packages: Comprehensive tour packages including flights, accommodation, ground transportation, match/venue arrangements, tournament entry, excursions, and on-ground support. Revenue is generated through per-person pricing with deposits and installment payments.
2. Tournament Entry and Management: Organising and managing branded tournaments such as Abu Dhabi Schools International Cup, U18 Sporta Football Trophy, Malta Netball Tournament. Revenue from team entry fees as part of comprehensive tour packages.
3. Group Travel Insurance: Bespoke youth and school group travel insurance policy arranged through Howden Insurance. Commission-based revenue from insurance sales as a condition of booking.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels10 records

Core offering

Sporta Tours organizes and manages international sports tours for schools, clubs, and professional teams, providing end-to-end packages that include flights, accommodation, ground transportation, match and venue arrangements, tournament entry, excursions, and on-ground support. The company also runs its own branded tournaments (e.g., the Abu Dhabi Schools International Cup, U18 Sporta Football Trophy, Malta Netball Tournament) and arranges pre-season training camps for county and national cricket teams across 15+ destination countries.

Product overview

Sporta Tours operates a comprehensive sports tour platform with its core offering being organized tours for schools, clubs, and professional teams across multiple sports. The product portfolio includes cricket tournaments (ARCH Tournament, Girls' ARCH Cricket Festival, Abu Dhabi Schools International Cup, CrickFest, Over 60s Cricket Festival), football tournaments (U18 Sporta Football Trophy), netball tournaments (Malta Netball Tournament), training camps for professional and elite teams, and ski packages. Key destination modules span the UAE, UK, South Africa, Spain, France, Caribbean, India, Sri Lanka, Kenya, and other international locations. An add-on service includes bespoke group travel insurance partnered with Howden Insurance.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• ARCH Tournament: The Abu Dhabi Schools International Cup (formerly ARCH) - established in 2006, the world's largest international cricket tournament for schools and academies.
• Girls' ARCH Cricket Festival
• U18 Sporta Football Trophy

Products and services

• Sports Tours End-to-end sports tour packages for schools, clubs, and professional teams that cover flights, accommodation, ground transport, match fixtures, venue hire, excursions, and 24/7 on-ground support across multiple sports and global destinations.
• ARCH Tournament (Abu Dhabi Schools International Cup) Annual cricket tournament for schools and academies held in the UAE at world-class venues including ICC Academy and Zayed Cricket Academy, featuring 40-over and T20 match formats.
• Girls' ARCH Cricket Festival
• Training Camps Pre-season and development training camps for professional cricket teams, county clubs, and school groups, delivered at international venues with full travel and logistics management.
• U18 Sporta Football Trophy Annual U18 youth football tournament held in the UAE, with package based on 18 players plus free staff places, including flights, accommodation, ground transfers, tournament entry with 4 guaranteed matches per team, match officials, and excursions.
• Malta Netball Tournament Netball tournament for schools held in Malta, offering a 4-day tour package with entry to a 2-day festival and cultural excursions to Valletta.
• CrickFest Annual development-focused cricket festival held at UK venues (Eastbourne College and Haileybury), featuring multiple age categories from U10s to U13s in T10 format games.
• Ski Packages School ski trip packages to destinations including Andorra (Arinsal, Pas de la Casa), France (Les Deux Alpes), Italy (Bormio, Pila, Sella Nevea), and Spain (Sierra Nevada).
• Abu Dhabi Schools International Cup (ADSIC) 2025 Annual cricket tournament for schools in the UAE featuring U15 and U18 age categories, with matches played at Abu Dhabi Cricket & Sports Hub and other partner venues.
• Over 60s Cricket Festival in the UAE Cricket festival for senior players aged over 60, developed in partnership with England Cricket Seniors, with matches at Abu Dhabi CC, ICC Academy, 7evens Grounds, and Sharjah Stadium.
• England Women's Pre-World Cup Training Camp Pre-Tournament World Cup training camp for the England Women's cricket team, with full travel and logistics managed by Sporta in Abu Dhabi.
• England Lions Training Camp South Africa Training camp for England Men's Lions and U19 Young Lions squads in South Africa for development purposes, including a four-day match against South Africa A.
• Abu Dhabi T20 Counties Super Cup Pre-season cricket tournament for English County teams held in Abu Dhabi, featuring matches at Tolerance Oval and other partner venues.

Quantifiable outcome

• Nearly 20 years of experience bringing teams to the UAE region
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers29 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration1 record

Partnerships

15 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Cricket IrelandcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 27 September 2024Managing travel and logistics for Cricket Ireland men's team during Ireland v South Africa T20I and ODI series in Abu Dhabi.
• Titans CricketminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 April 2019Partnership with Titans Cricket for cricket tours and travel arrangements.
• Dubai CollegeminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 15 July 2015Partnership with Dubai College for International Netball Tournament in UAE for U14 and U18 school teams.
• Abu Dhabi Cricket & Sports HubcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOfficial travel and logistics partner for Abu Dhabi Cricket & Sports Hub. Sporta manages end-to-end travel and tour arrangements for teams visiting the region, working with venues including Tolerance Oval, ICC Academy, Zayed Cricket Academy, and The Sevens Stadium. Nearly 20-year relationship.
• England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOfficial logistics partner for ECB events including North v South Series, England Women's pre-World Cup training camps, and ECB ACO umpire programmes for tournaments.
• MCC FoundationminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerConnecting school cricket tours with overseas MCCF projects, including legacy tours to Nepal with coaching and community development components.
• School Travel Forum (STF)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorAssured Member of School Travel Forum. STF membership is the benchmark for good school tour providers and is an Awarding Body for the Learning Outside the Classroom Quality Badge.
• Association of Bonded Travel Organisers Trust (ABTOT)coreOthersMember (No. 5670) of ABTOT providing financial protection under The Package Travel and Linked Travel Arrangements Regulations 2018.
• UK Civil Aviation Authority (ATOL)coreOthersATOL licensed travel company (ATOL number 9684) providing government-guaranteed financial protection for flight-inclusive holidays.
• Howden InsurancecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with Howden Insurance to create bespoke school group travel insurance policy covering cancellation, medical emergencies, repatriation, and 100+ sports activities as standard.
• England Cricket SeniorsminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with England Cricket Seniors for Over 60s Cricket Festival in the UAE, developed alongside the organisation for county team and combined county team participation.
• Abu Dhabi Sports CouncilcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner of Sport in Abu Dhabi initiative launched by Abu Dhabi Sports Council and Abu Dhabi Tourism & Culture Authority to promote the UAE capital.
• ICC AcademycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLongstanding partnership with ICC Academy for cricket training and tournament venues. ICC Academy has stated 'The team at Sporta Tours are very knowledgeable and a joy to work with.'
• The Sevens StadiumcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerVenue partnership for ARCH tournaments and cricket events. The Sevens Stadium has stated 'We've worked extensively with Sporta over the years. They're always superbly organised and a joy to deal with.'
• Zayed Cricket AcademycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerVenue partnership for ARCH tournaments and cricket events at Zayed Cricket Academy in Abu Dhabi.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• The School Travel Company: The School Travel Company is a UK tour operator focused on school group trips across European and long-haul destinations. It competes directly with Sporta for school sports and educational tours, sharing the same ATOL-protected, curriculum-and-activity-led model.
• World Challenge: World Challenge organizes school expedition and group travel programmes for UK secondary schools. It is comparable to Sporta as a UK-anchored, school-segment tour operator focused on educational outcomes, with overlapping risk-managed, ATOL-bonded group travel.
• Halsbury Travel: Halsbury Travel is a UK-headquartered group travel operator specializing in school trips and educational tours. It is highly comparable to Sporta Tours as it targets the same UK school buyer with multi-destination sports, cultural, and curriculum trips and competes on similar ATOL-protected credentials.
• Equity School Travel: Equity School Travel (part of Equity Group) is a UK school group travel operator providing bespoke school tours across Europe and beyond. It directly competes with Sporta for the same school Trip Leader buyer, with comparable financial protection and curriculum-led tour positioning.
• JCA Travel: JCA Travel is a UK-based school travel specialist organizing educational and activity-based trips for schools. It is a direct competitor to Sporta in the school group travel market, with overlap on sports and activity itineraries and similar ATOL-backed financial protection.
• Sport-Travel.co.uk: Sport-Travel is a UK-based operator arranging sports tours for schools, clubs, and representative teams across rugby, hockey, football, netball, and cricket. It is among the closest direct peers to Sporta, sharing the school and club sports-tour core proposition and overlapping destination footprint (e.g., South Africa, Europe).

Broad incumbents

• Contiki: Contiki is a global youth-group tour operator offering fixed-itinerary trips to 18-35 year olds. It is a broad incumbent in the group travel space and is comparable to Sporta in its model of bundling transport, accommodation, and activities into group packages, but addresses a different end customer.
• TrekAmerica: TrekAmerica is an established small-group adventure travel operator serving UK and international youth/student travellers. It is a broad incumbent adjacent to Sporta's group travel core, with overlapping supplier relationships but a different primary customer (independent travellers versus schools/clubs).
• STA Travel: STA Travel (and StudentUniverse) is a long-established youth and student travel brand offering discounted flights, accommodation, and tours globally. It is a broad incumbent adjacent to Sporta's group travel offering, with overlapping supplier and destination footprint but distinct retail/consumer channels.

Emerging players

• Inspired Travel Group: Inspired Travel Group is a smaller UK-based specialist offering sports and school tours with a comparable value proposition. It is an emerging player relative to Sporta, with partial overlap on school sports tours but typically narrower destination coverage and weaker tournament assets.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/SportaGroup
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UC7xmWV70n1XHo3HyHy6GKGQ/featured
• Facebookfacebook.com/SportaGroupandSportaTours
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/sportagroup
• Instagraminstagram.com/sportagroup

Compliance6 records

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 Sporta Tours