Extra Play acquires Global Sports — unlocking the future of talent in sport

This summer, Extra Play, founded by Shaun Conning and Neil Colligan, took its first major step by acquiring Global Sports — its platform and products — and welcoming the brand into the Extra Play family.

Global Sports is a name with real weight in the industry. Today it is the largest dedicated jobs platform in sport, with an engaged audience of over one million across registered users, social followers and platform visitors — plus over 4,500 live jobs and 100+ partners across federations, clubs, leagues, events and growth operators.

By combining that heritage and scale with Extra Play’s experience scaling ambitious sports, media and betting organisations, we’re building something new: a platform-led, technology-enabled, AI-powered talent engine for the global sports industry. At its core sits the Global Sports Intelligence Engine (GSiE) — the unique data and insight platform powering Jobs, Talent and Education.

Global Sports will continue as a standalone go-to-market brand within the Extra Play family, with three clear pillars:

• Global Sports Jobs – the home for careers in sport, powered by reach, data and smart technology.
• Global Sports Talent – search for specialists and emerging leaders, team builds, and strategic people advisory.
• Global Sports Education – building beyond today’s early careers focus to become the hub for insight and knowledge throughout a career in sport.

We’re also delighted that Will Lloyd has joined Extra Play. With established relationships across federations, clubs, leagues, events and growth operators — and deep knowledge of the industry — he brings a unique strength in building partnerships and unlocking growth. Shaun brings strategy, people and leadership expertise from scaling global businesses; Neil brings commercial and operational know-how, with a track record in global tech-enabled sports ventures. Together, the three leaders form a team with the credibility, experience and reach to deliver impact at pace.

This is the beginning of a new era: Extra Play and Global Sports, working together to create the go-to platform for talent in sport — faster, sharper, leaner, powered by GSiE.

Explore the new Global Sports Corporate site and connect with the team to see what’s next.