Social Sport

What Social Sport does

Social Sport is a Melbourne-based sports club and competition operator founded in 2005 that runs weekly organized social sporting leagues across seven disciplines — Basketball, Netball, Futsal, Junior Futsal, Footy 7s, Volleyball, and Pickleball — at 20+ premium venues throughout metropolitan Melbourne. The company serves amateur adults and youth players who want a turnkey alternative to organizing pickup games themselves, handling venue booking, match officials, fixtures, results, equipment, and insurance in a single bundled offering. CEO Derek Taylor leads the company alongside co-founder Nick Henninge (creative director); the firm operates independently with no disclosed external funding.

The core product is a network of recurring weekly leagues priced at $10-$19 per player per game, supplemented by the TeamUp program (which matches individuals into existing teams), PickUp Games (one-off casual bookings across Futsal, 3x3 Basketball, Volleyball, and Pickleball), and a branded merchandise shop. Technology infrastructure is deliberately light: a Webflow-based website for self-service registration and discovery, the third-party LeagueUp mobile app (iOS/Android) for fixtures and results, and a Paperform-powered online shop. The business is direct-to-consumer with no intermediaries, marketed primarily through the website, Facebook, Instagram, and word of mouth.

Revenue is generated through usage-based per-player weekly fees across all sports and venues, with no disclosed subscription or sponsorship streams. The customer base spans four segments — adult social players (primary), junior players U10-U16, individuals without teams, and casual one-off participants — distributed across 20+ venues partnered with City of Melbourne, City of Boroondara, City of Banyule, Victoria University, RMIT, YMCA, Springers Leisure Centre, and Richmond High School. The company is positioned as Melbourne's largest social sporting competition provider with 10,000+ weekly participants across metro Melbourne, having grown organically over 15+ years without external capital.

Name

Social Sport

Website

https://socialsport.com.au

Company type

Private

Founded year

2005

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Social Sport is a Melbourne-based sports club that organizes weekly social sporting competitions across seven sports—basketball, netball, futsal, junior futsal, footy 7s, volleyball, and pickleball—at more than 20 premium venues, serving over 10,000 weekly participants in metropolitan Melbourne.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Social Sports Competitions

NAICS

Fitness and Recreational Sports Centers (71394), Other Spectator Sports (711219)

SIC

Services-Membership Sports & Recreation Clubs (7997), Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900)

akta.pro primary industry

Recreational & Intramural Sports Programs (MPAKACAG)

akta.pro secondary industries

Club Sports Programs (EDALAIAB), Local Amateur Clubs & Community Sports Organizations (MPAKACAE), Youth & Amateur Sports Tournaments (MPAGAMAF)

Keywords

• Social sports leagues
• Recreational sports competitions
• Sports venue management
• Team sport scheduling
• Community sports programs

Headquarters

HQ city

Melbourne

HQ country

Australia

HQ region

Oceania

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Weekly Competition Fees: Revenue generated from per-player weekly game fees across all sports and venues. Players pay per game to participate in organized social sporting competitions.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Social Sport operates weekly organized social sporting competitions across Melbourne in seven sports disciplines — Basketball, Netball, Futsal, Junior Futsal, Footy 7s, Volleyball, and Pickleball — at 20+ premium venues with professional staff and match officials. The company runs online registration, schedules fixtures, and delivers results through the LeagueUp mobile app, serving over 10,000 weekly participants. Complementary offerings include TeamUp (individual-to-team matching) and PickUp Games (casual one-off bookings).

Product overview

Social Sport is Melbourne's largest social sporting competition provider, founded in 2005. The company operates a platform-based offering comprising weekly league competitions (Social Sport Competitions), individual player team-matching (TeamUp), casual game bookings (PickUp Games), a fixtures and results mobile/web app (LeagueUp), and an online merchandise shop. The core product runs 7 sports disciplines—Basketball, Netball, Futsal, Junior Futsal, Footy 7s, Volleyball, and Pickleball—across 20+ premium Melbourne venues with over 10,000 weekly participants. TeamUp helps individuals join existing teams, while PickUp Games enables one-off casual bookings. LeagueUp delivers technology-enabled fixtures, results, and mobile app access. The shop offers branded merchandise. The company positions 'Sport + Technology' as a key differentiator, utilizing technology for registration, scheduling, and results delivery.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Basketball Competitions
• Netball Competitions
• Futsal Competitions
• Junior Futsal Competitions
• Footy 7s Competitions
• Volleyball Competitions
• Pickleball Competitions
• TeamUp Program Service that helps individual players find existing teams to join. Participants select a sport, location, and availability, attend a starter game, and then are placed into a permanent team. For solo players or small groups lacking a full squad.
• PickUp Games One-off casual game bookings for Futsal, 3x3 Basketball, Volleyball, and Pickleball. Players can book individual spots without team commitment or full-season registration. Pickleball casual sessions route through external partner Pickle Pickle.
• LeagueUp App Mobile application and web platform for accessing fixtures and results across Social Sport competitions. Available on the Apple App Store and Google Play Store, enabling participants to view schedules and match outcomes.
• Social Sport Shop Online merchandise shop powered by Paperform, offering Social Sport branded products.

Quantifiable outcome

• 10,000+ weekly participants across Melbourne
• +2 more outcomes

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration3 records

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• City of MelbournecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMunicipal government partnership for delivering social sporting competitions across Melbourne venues and communities.
• Victoria University (VU)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEducational institution partnership providing venues (VU Community Sports Stadium) for social sport competitions.
• YMCAcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with YMCA for venue access and community sporting programs.
• RMIT UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUniversity partnership providing venues for social sporting competitions (Bundoora campus).
• Richmond High SchoolcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEducational institution providing indoor stadium facilities for basketball, netball, and pickleball competitions.
• City of BoroondaracoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMunicipal council partnership for delivering social sport programs in the Boroondara area.
• Springers Leisure CentrecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLeisure centre partnership providing venues for futsal and volleyball competitions in Keysborough.
• City of BanyulecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMunicipal council partnership for sporting programs in the Banyule area.
• LeagueUpcoreTechnology or IntegrationTechnology platform partner providing mobile app for fixtures, results, and competition management. Available on iOS App Store and Google Play Store.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Urban Rec: Urban Rec operates adult social sports leagues across multiple Canadian cities, offering a directly comparable weekly team-based competition model with similar technology-driven registration and venue-management focus.
• Sport Starz: Sport Starz runs social 5-a-side and 7-a-side football leagues across the UK with online registration and weekly fixtures, making it the closest UK analog to Social Sport's futsal and Footy 7s competitions.
• ClubWAKA: ClubWAKA operates social adult sports leagues (kickball, dodgeball, volleyball, etc.) in multiple US markets, sharing Social Sport's positioning around organised weekly social play, professional officiating and venue partnerships.
• Volo Sports: Volo Sports runs adult recreational sports leagues in major US cities with self-service team registration and multi-sport offerings, mirroring Social Sport's core weekly competition business model and target customer.
• Kanga Sports: Kanga Sports operates small-sided social football leagues across Australian cities with similar online registration and venue-based competition formats, making it a domestic peer in the same Melbourne-adjacent recreational sport category.

Others

• Belgravia Leisure: Belgravia Leisure manages council-owned leisure centres and runs community sport programs across Australia, intersecting with Social Sport at the venue-provider and program-delivery layer.
• YMCA Victoria: YMCA Victoria operates recreational sport, fitness and community programs across Melbourne and is both a venue partner and adjacent competitor for community participation sports and venue utilisation.

Broad incumbents

• Netball Victoria: Netball Victoria is the state governing body that runs community netball competitions across Melbourne, overlapping directly with Social Sport's netball offering and venue relationships with clubs and associations.
• Touch Football Australia: Touch Football Australia is the national governing body for touch football, running social and competitive competitions nationally — a broader incumbent in a related participation sport that competes for the same adult recreational player wallet.

Regional players

• Pickleball Australia: Pickleball Australia is the national body overseeing pickleball growth and affiliated social play, directly overlapping with Social Sport's emerging pickleball offering and community-program focus.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/getsocialsport
• Instagraminstagram.com/socialsportau
• Xx.com/PlaySocialSport
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/social-sport

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

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 Social Sport