A new sports-specific platform launched in Johannesburg on Tuesday has the potential for raising funds for aspirant athletes by giving them voices outside cluttered mainstream social media outlets, its founder says.
Stephen Watson, head of Discover Sport.com, said the aim was to enable athletes and underserved sports without exclusivity.
“We’re all about voices, all about eyeballs,” he told TimesLIVE after the launch at the South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (Sascoc) headquarters.
The platform, which hosted the recent World Games in China as well as the South African heavyweight boxing fight between Chris Thompson and Shaun Potgieter, allows athletes to register and post videos telling their stories.
Coaches and other role players in sport are also allowed to take part.
Accessible through website and an app, Discover Sport.com also offers live-streaming.
Since going live in a testing phase seven months ago, total play hours and unique users had grown considerably.
There is also a Discover Sport Foundation which to date has assisted 52 athletes “with less than R1m in hard cash”, said Watson.
“You don’t have to have millions,” he added, explaining they had also been able to assist in kind, like using a partnership with Air France/KLM that offered discounted tickets.
The foundation was also helping eight youth structures.
People wanting funding assistance can apply through the app.
The first 16 of 26 brand ambassadors were named at the function, including two Olympians, badminton player Johanita Scholtz, who competed at Paris 2024, and gymnast Naveen Daries, a veteran of Tokyo 2020.
Also there are South African women’s boxing star Smash Hadebe, soccer player Jessica Wade, netball player Refiloe Nketsa and Paralympic equestrian hopeful Abby McIlree.
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