generated: '2026-09-02'
method: probed
source: >-
  DNS/TLS probes of every API-Sports host and the provider's own sitemaps
  (https://api-sports.io/sitemap.xml, https://www.api-football.com/sitemap.xml),
  2026-09-02.
specification: API Evangelist Lifecycle
specificationVersion: '0.1'
provider: API-Sports
providerId: api-sports
description: >-
  Versioning, release, status and deprecation posture for the API-Sports family.
versioning:
  scheme: major-version-in-hostname
  detail: >-
    Each sport is a separately versioned API whose major version is a DNS label:
    v3.football.api-sports.io, v2.nba.api-sports.io, v1.<sport>.api-sports.io. A
    version bump therefore means a new hostname, and there is no negotiated or
    default-latest alias.
  current_versions:
    football: v3
    nba: v2
    basketball: v1
    baseball: v1
    american-football: v1
    formula-1: v1
    hockey: v1
    handball: v1
    rugby: v1
    volleyball: v1
    mma: v1
    afl: v1
    widgets: v3 (documentation/widgets/v3)
  verified: probed
  evidence: >-
    All twelve sport hosts answered on 2026-09-02 with the API's own JSON envelope.
    Older or alternate labels do not resolve: v1.nba.api-sports.io,
    v3.tennis.api-sports.io, v1.tennis.api-sports.io, v1.cricket.api-sports.io and
    v1.golf.api-sports.io are all NXDOMAIN.
release_channel:
  present: true
  type: news-blog
  url: https://www.api-football.com/news/
  releases_tag: https://www.api-football.com/news/tag/releases
  categories:
    - https://www.api-football.com/news/category/api
    - https://www.api-football.com/news/category/endpoints
    - https://www.api-football.com/news/category/features
    - https://www.api-football.com/news/category/dashboard
    - https://www.api-football.com/news/category/widgets
  detail: changelog/api-sports-changelog.yml
  note: >-
    There is no dedicated /changelog page. Releases, new endpoints, new competitions
    and beta openings are announced as dated posts in the news blog and grouped by the
    "releases" tag.
deprecation_policy:
  published: false
  sunset_header: false
  deprecation_header: false
  rfc8594: false
  note: >-
    No deprecation or sunset policy was found on either public host, and no
    Deprecation or Sunset response header was observed. The only deprecation signal
    available to a consumer is that a retired version's hostname stops resolving,
    which gives no notice period. No Deprecation pointer is emitted for this provider.
  evidence:
    - url: https://api-sports.io/sitemap.xml
      status: 200
      finding: No deprecation, sunset, versioning-policy or lifecycle page is listed.
status_page:
  configured: true
  serving: false
  url: https://status.api-sports.io/
  vendor: Better Stack (Better Uptime)
  dns: status.api-sports.io CNAME statuspage.betteruptime.com -> 167.235.220.62
  http_status: null
  error: 'TLS handshake failure: tlsv1 alert internal error'
  finding: >-
    API-Sports has provisioned a Better Uptime status page and pointed
    status.api-sports.io at it, but the TLS certificate for the custom domain is not
    being served — every HTTPS connection is aborted by the vendor during the
    handshake, from two independent clients on 2026-09-02. Plain HTTP 308-redirects to
    the HTTPS URL that then fails, so the page is unreachable by any means. This is a
    broken deployment, not an absent one; it is a small fix on the provider's side.
    No StatusPage pointer is emitted while it does not serve, because a pointer to an
    unreachable page is a claim we would be making on the provider's behalf.
  evidence:
    - url: https://status.api-sports.io/
      status: null
      error: TLSV1_ALERT_INTERNAL_ERROR
    - url: http://status.api-sports.io/
      status: 308
sla:
  published: false
  note: >-
    No SLA or uptime commitment page was found in either sitemap. The provider does
    publish an operational note on server availability
    (https://www.api-football.com/news/post/servers-availability) but that is a blog
    post, not a commitment.
beta_program:
  present: true
  url: https://www.api-football.com/news/post/api-beta-program
  docs: https://www.api-football.com/documentation-beta
  detail: >-
    API-Sports runs a formal beta programme; AFL, MMA and Tennis were each opened
    through it. Beta access is granted on request through the dashboard chat rather
    than self-serve.
retired_or_unreleased:
  - name: Tennis
    state: beta-by-request
    evidence: >-
      Announced at
      https://www.api-football.com/news/post/exciting-news-explore-the-tennis-world-with-our-api-beta-release
      but absent from https://api-sports.io/sitemap.xml, and neither
      v1.tennis.api-sports.io nor v3.tennis.api-sports.io resolves. There is no public
      tennis documentation page and no callable tennis host.
  - name: dashboard.api-sports.io
    state: decommissioned
    evidence: >-
      NXDOMAIN as of 2026-09-02. This host was the account/signup destination the
      catalog carried; the live dashboard is https://dashboard.api-football.com/.
maintainers:
  - FN: Kin Lane
    email: info@apievangelist.com