Player First
PlayerFirst is a US youth sports management technology platform under 3 Step Sports LLC that provides single-login access across 150+ sport organizations and event providers, offering registration, scheduling, payments (PF Pay), and athlete verification (UCVerified) through web and mobile applications.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded-
- HeadquartersNairobi, Kenya
- Headcount501–1,000
- GTM typeB2B and B2C
- OfferingSoftware
What Player First does
PlayerFirst is a youth sports management technology platform operating as a wholly owned subsidiary of 3 Step Sports LLC, a diversified youth sports conglomerate headquartered at 3090 North Lake Terrace, Glenview, Illinois. The platform connects 150+ youth sport organizations and event providers through a single sign-on identity layer, allowing athletes, parents, and coaches to maintain one account across all participating brands. Its core architecture is the PlayerFirst Web administrative backbone (websites, registration, scheduling, team management, communications, invoicing, and financial reporting), supplemented by two mobile applications — the PlayerFirst Club App for athletes and families, and the PlayerFirst Access App for event staff managing gate access, parking, scoring, and on-site operations.
The product portfolio is layered. PF Pay is a Stripe-integrated point-of-sale module deployed at events with kiosk mode, cash handling, refunds, and event-shop financial consolidation into PlayerFirst Web. UCVerified is a subscription-based athlete data verification service offering combine testing times, UCScore ratings, performance comparisons at camp/class/state/all-time/professional levels, a video library, and college pathway and recruiting tools, structured in three tiers (Rookie, All-Star, All-American). The platform integrates bidirectionally with third-party event and registration systems including AES, Exposure, GotSport, AthleteTrax, Smoothcomp, NCAA/BBCS, and Skylight, and uses Canva assets for promotional materials within the Access App.
The business model combines transaction fees on registrations and POS throughput (PF Pay), recurring subscription revenue from UCVerified tiers, and platform fees. Distribution is product-led through mobile app stores and direct web access, with no public funding rounds, no disclosed revenue figures, and no management team identified in the public source data. The customer base is distributed across the US youth sports ecosystem — sports clubs, tournament operators, and the families participating in their programs — with no international footprint.
Player First firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Player First
- Legal name
- 3 Step Sports LLC
- Website
- https://playerfirsttech.com
- Company type
- Private
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 501–1,000 employees
- Short description
- PlayerFirst is a US youth sports management technology platform under 3 Step Sports LLC that provides single-login access across 150+ sport organizations and event providers, offering registration, scheduling, payments (PF Pay), and athlete verification (UCVerified) through web and mobile applications.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Player First industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Youth Sports Management Software
- NAICS
- Sports and Recreation Instruction (611620)
- SIC
- Services-Computer Programming, Data Processing, Etc. (7370)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Sports Combine, Tryout & Showcase Programs (MPAKAJAM)
Keywords
Where Player First is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Nairobi
- HQ country
- Kenya
- HQ region
- Africa
Offices1 record
Markets served
Player First business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B and B2C
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Technology or R&D, Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Platform Fees: PlayerFirst charges platform fees on transactions processed through PF Pay and registration payments
- UCVerified Subscriptions: Tiered subscription service (Rookie, All-Star, All-American) providing athlete data verification, combine testing access, UCScore ratings, and college recruiting tools. Each tier offers progressively more features including analytics, video library, and college pathway projections
- Program Registration: Registration fees for youth sports programs, tryouts, tournaments, and events managed through the platform
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Monthly | UCVerified Rookie Tier - Basic combine data access |
| Subscription | Monthly | UCVerified All-Star Tier - Enhanced analytics and video library |
| Subscription | Monthly | UCVerified All-American Tier - Full college recruiting features |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels3 records
Player First product offering
Product offeringCore offering
PlayerFirst is a unified technology platform that enables youth sports organizations and event providers to manage registrations, scheduling, rostering, payments, communications, and athlete performance verification through a single login. The offering includes a web-based admin platform (PlayerFirst Web), mobile applications for athletes/parents and event staff, an integrated Stripe-powered point-of-sale system (PF Pay), and a subscription-based athlete data and combine verification service (UCVerified).
Product overview
PlayerFirst is a youth sports management technology platform providing single login access to 150+ youth sport organizations across the United States. The platform operates as a unified ecosystem with PlayerFirst Web as the core administrative platform powering websites, registration, team management, scheduling, communications, and billing. It is complemented by two mobile applications: PlayerFirst Club App for athletes and families to view schedules and manage participation, and PlayerFirst Access App for event organizers and staff to manage on-site operations including gate access, scoring, and location management. PF Pay provides integrated point-of-sale payment processing through Stripe, while UCVerified offers a subscription-based athlete data verification service for combine testing results and college recruiting tools.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- PlayerFirst Club App: Mobile application for parents, athletes, coaches, and team managers to manage schedules, events, and team communications
- PlayerFirst Access App
- PF Pay
- UCVerified
Products and services
- PlayerFirst Web The primary web-based administrative platform serving as the backbone for managing websites, program registration, team management, scheduling, communications, sales, invoicing, and financial reporting across youth sport organizations.
- PlayerFirst Club App Mobile application for parents, athletes, coaches, and team managers to view schedules, manage profiles, track attendance, message teams, export calendars, register for programs, and purchase products.
- PlayerFirst Access App Mobile application for tournament and event staff to manage gate and parking operations, scan tickets, view schedules and brackets, score games, pin event locations, create custom event pages, and process on-site purchases.
- PF Pay Point-of-sale payment processing system integrated with PlayerFirst Web, connecting Stripe card readers to iPads to enable on-site credit card and cash payments, kiosk mode, transaction management, refunds, and receipt generation for event and shop sales.
- UCVerified Subscription-based athlete data verification platform providing combine testing times, athlete measurables, UCScore analytics, performance comparisons against other athletes and professionals, video resource library, and college recruiting tools across Rookie, All-Star, and All-American subscription tiers.
Quantifiable outcome
- Single login works across 150+ organizations
- +1 more outcomes
Companies that use Player First
Customer profileNamed customers3 records
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Player First technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration9 records
Feature5 records
Player First partnerships and signals
Strategic signalScale indicators2 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Player First competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- Active Network / ActiveWorks: Active Network (part of Global Payments) provides event registration and activity management software widely used by youth sports organizations and tournaments. It is a broader incumbent competing on similar registration and event-management workflows as PlayerFirst.
- SportsEngine: SportsEngine, owned by NBC Sports/Comcast, is a leading U.S. youth sports management platform offering registration, scheduling, websites, and communication tools. It directly competes with PlayerFirst's core web/admin platform for the same youth sports organization customer base, with a much larger installed base.
- Genius Sports: Genius Sports is a sports data and technology company serving leagues, sportsbooks, and media. While focused on professional sports, its data and event technology footprint makes it an adjacent incumbent relevant to PlayerFirst's UCVerified data ambitions.
- Stack Sports: Stack Sports is a large U.S. sports technology platform serving governing bodies, leagues, clubs, and events with registration, tournament management, and payment solutions. It competes with PlayerFirst across multiple product lines and benefits from broader sport-vertical reach.
Emerging players
- Bonzi: Bonzi is an emerging sales, engagement, and retention platform with a focus on youth sports and activities organizations. It overlaps with PlayerFirst's communication, retention analytics, and program-management capabilities.
- Crossbar: Crossbar is an emerging youth sports operations platform providing registration, payment processing, and event management tools. It overlaps with PlayerFirst's PF Pay and registration workflows, representing a younger, narrower competitor in the same niche.
Direct peers
- Jersey Watch: Jersey Watch provides website building, registration, and payment tools specifically designed for youth sports organizations. It competes directly with the PlayerFirst Web platform for the same youth club and league customers.
- TeamSnap: TeamSnap is a team and sports management platform used by youth sports clubs, leagues, and parents for scheduling, registration, and communication. It competes directly with PlayerFirst's Club App and web platform for the same SMB youth sports organization and parent/athlete end users.
- LeagueApps: LeagueApps provides registration, scheduling, payments, and communication software to youth and adult sports leagues, clubs, and tournaments. It is a direct head-to-head competitor to PlayerFirst in the youth sports management SaaS category, with similar feature scope and pricing model.
- PlayMetrics: PlayMetrics offers club and league management software for youth soccer and other sports, including registration, scheduling, communication, and payments. It is a focused direct competitor in the same youth sports organization vertical.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Player First financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Player First leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Player First funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds1 record
Investors1 record
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Player First M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Player First
What does Player First do?
PlayerFirst is a unified technology platform that enables youth sports organizations and event providers to manage registrations, scheduling, rostering, payments, communications, and athlete performance verification through a single login. The offering includes a web-based admin platform (PlayerFirst Web), mobile applications for athletes/parents and event staff, an integrated Stripe-powered point-of-sale system (PF Pay), and a subscription-based athlete data and combine verification service (UCVerified).
Is Player First a public or private company?
Player First is a private company. It is classified as corporate owned and is currently operating.
When was Player First founded?
Player First was founded in -1. It employs 501 to 1,000 people.
Where is Player First based?
Player First is headquartered in Nairobi, Kenya, in the Africa region.
How does Player First make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Platform Fees are the primary driver. The others are UCVerified Subscriptions and program Registration.
Who are Player First's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are Active Network / ActiveWorks, SportsEngine, Genius Sports and Stack Sports. Emerging players are Bonzi and Crossbar. Direct peers are Jersey Watch, TeamSnap, LeagueApps and PlayMetrics.
Does Player First have an API?
No public API is recorded for Player First.
What industry is Player First in?
Player First's product category is Youth Sports Management Software. Its primary akta.pro industry code is MPAKAJAM, Sports Combine, Tryout & Showcase Programs. Its NAICS code is 611620 and its SIC code is 7370.