Courts of the World

What Courts of the World does

Courts of the World is a privately held community platform founded in 2007 that operates the original global basketball court directory. The platform enables basketball players to discover 70,000+ courts across 200+ countries, view court details and user-contributed photos, rate and check in, and organize pickup games. The core product is a web-based map and list platform supplemented by the CourtFinder iOS mobile application and an embeddable map widget for third-party websites. Underlying technology includes geolocation-based discovery, a user-generated content system for reviews and photos, community features with player leaderboards, and integration with OpenStreetMap data for geographic coverage. The platform supports multilingual access across seven languages (English, German, Spanish, French, Portuguese, Chinese, and Arabic).

The company's business model is primarily advertising- and sponsorship-driven. Revenue is generated through a dedicated advertising program reaching the platform's global user base and through vendor and federation partnerships including equipment manufacturers such as Dr. Dish and Bergo Flooring, plus national basketball federations including Basketball Australia, Basketball England, Basketball Nederland, Basketball New Zealand, and Samahang Basketball ng Pilipinas. The core platform is free for users; no subscription tiers or paid features were identified. The company holds an official endorsement from FIBA (the International Basketball Federation) and is co-owned by Ryan O'Leary. Operations run lean with 1-10 employees and no disclosed institutional funding rounds.

Name

Courts of the World

Legal name

Courts of the World

Website

https://courtsoftheworld.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2007

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Courts of the World is a community platform that helps basketball players find and review 70,000+ courts across 200+ countries, organize pickup games, and connect with the global basketball community, monetized via advertising and equipment and federation sponsorships.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Sports Community Platform

NAICS

All Other Amusement and Recreation Industries (71399), Fitness and Recreational Sports Centers (713940)

SIC

Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900), Services-Miscellaneous Amusement & Recreation (7990)

akta.pro primary industry

Arenas & Indoor Sports Centers (MPAKAEAB)

Keywords

• Basketball court directory
• Sports community platform
• Court mapping platform
• Pickup game organizer
• Basketball court finder

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Advertising: The platform operates a dedicated advertising program allowing brands to reach the basketball community. Advertisers can feature products and services to the platform's global user base.
2. Vendor/Partner Sponsorships: Partnerships with equipment manufacturers (Dr. Dish, Bergo Flooring) and federation partners generate revenue through co-marketing, featured placements, and exclusive visibility on the platform.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Courts of the World operates a global basketball court directory and community platform covering 70,000+ courts across 200+ countries. Players can search, browse, and discover basketball courts on a map, view user-contributed photos, read reviews, check in, and organize pickup games at specific courts. The platform includes a multilingual website (7 languages), an iOS mobile app, and an embeddable map widget for third-party sites.

Product overview

Courts of the World is a single unified platform — a global basketball court directory and community network. Its core product is the Courts of the World platform (web), supplemented by the CourtFinder iOS mobile app and a Map Widget for third-party embedding. Users search and browse a map of 70,000+ courts worldwide, view court details and photos, rate and check in, and organize pickup games. The platform integrates OpenStreetMap data for geographic coverage and supports multilingual access (English, German, Spanish, French, Portuguese, Chinese, Arabic).

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Courts of the World Platform The original basketball court directory and global map platform that helps basketball players find places to play and connect with others. Features include a searchable map, court listings with photos, ratings, and check-ins across 200+ countries and 70,000+ courts.
• CourtFinder App (iOS) Native iOS mobile application enabling players to find basketball courts, browse the global map, and access the platform's community features on the go. Available on the App Store.
• Global Basketball Map Widget Embeddable map widget that allows third-party websites to display Courts of the World's basketball court data on their own pages.

Quantifiable outcome

• 70,000+ basketball courts discoverable through a single platform
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered major, moderate and core.

• Dr. DishmajorGTM or Marketing Partner · 16 July 2025Partnership with Dr. Dish, the #1 selling basketball shooting machine worldwide. Announced July 2025. Includes map filtering feature to find courts with Dr. Dish equipment and increased brand visibility for Dr. Dish through the platform.
• Bergo FlooringmoderateGTM or Marketing Partner · 28 November 2024Partnership with Swedish flooring company specializing in innovative and sustainable basketball court surfaces. Announced November 2024. Goal to promote basketball and boost court usage through high-quality surfaces.
• FIBA BasketballcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFIBA (International Basketball Federation) endorsement of Courts of the World as the official basketball court finder. This partnership establishes credibility and authority for the platform within the global basketball ecosystem.
• Basketball AustraliamajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerNational basketball federation partnership promoting court discovery for Australian basketball players and visitors.
• Basketball EnglandmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerNational federation partnership supporting court access for basketball players in England.
• Basketball NederlandmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerDutch national basketball federation partnership for court discovery in the Netherlands.
• Basketball New ZealandmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerFirst national federation to adopt Courts of the World's court mapping technology. Announced October 2024. Partnership supports growth of basketball by helping players locate courts nationwide.
• Samahang Basketball ng PilipinasmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPhilippine Basketball Federation partnership for court discovery in the Philippines.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Strava: Sports activity and community platform with global heatmaps and venue discovery features. Comparable as a sports-focused community platform that overlaps with basketball players' location-based discovery needs.
• Google Maps: The dominant global mapping and local-discovery platform with extensive sports facility listings, reviews, and photos. Comparable because it is the primary alternative users default to for finding courts and venues, and it competes for the same local-discovery search traffic.
• Yelp: Consumer directory with reviews, photos, and check-ins for local businesses including recreational facilities. Comparable in directory-and-reviews model, though it operates broadly across categories rather than specializing in basketball courts.
• Foursquare / Swarm: Location-based check-in and venue discovery platform historically used to find places including sports courts. Comparable in check-in and community-discovery mechanics layered on venue data.

Emerging players

• Playpass: Pickup sports organization and venue-booking platform with a growing presence in basketball and other amateur sports. Comparable as a more transactional competitor in the pickup-game discovery and organization category.

Direct peers

• OpenCourt (Pickleball): Pickleball court directory and community platform with similar UGC, photos, and map features. Highly comparable in niche-sport directory/community model, applied to pickleball rather than basketball.
• TennisCourtMap: Global map-based directory for finding tennis courts with location-based discovery. Direct analog in racquet-sport court directory category with the same PLG/community model applied to tennis.
• Meetup: Community platform for organizing in-person group activities, including pickup sports. Comparable because Courts of the World's new pickup-game feature directly competes with Meetup's group-creation model for organizing local basketball games.
• AllTrails: Niche community-driven directory of recreational locations (trails) with reviews, photos, and a global map. Closely comparable business model to Courts of the World, applied to hiking rather than basketball.

Others

• OpenStreetMap: Open-source global map dataset that Courts of the World actually integrates into its platform. Comparable as the underlying data infrastructure for court locations and a potential substitute users could consult directly.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/courtsoftheworld

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 Courts of the World