Cape Town – For once a South African company has shared a podium with global trendsetters such as the NBA, Apple, Warner Bros, World Athletics and the ICC.
The MatchKit platform, which has and continues to give South African Olympic athletes the financial backing that governing bodies are unable or unwilling to provide, won the "Startup of the Year" award at the recent 2023 Sports Technology Awards in New York.
The accolade will rank as the most impressive win in the short history of MatchKit, which had some heavyweights to contend with for the prized gong.
The 10th Sports Technology Awards, presented in association with NBC Sports Next, saw some of the biggest brands in global sport convene to see who would secure the coveted trophies in the "Oscars of Sports Technology".
MatchKit co-founder Mike Sharman, who accepted the award in person, says unlocking commercial opportunities for the global community of marginalised and "Cinderella sports" athletes has been a dream for the team – co-founded by Bryan Habana, Shaka Sisulu, Ben Karpinski and Carli Schoeman – since the platform went live during the Covid-19 pandemic.
“Our tech has been used to power SA Hockey to the Tokyo Olympic Games," said Sharman.
"It was the vehicle for a movement to reward our Olympic medallists with more than R400 000 in less than a week, when the Sports Ministry said its commercial coffers were empty.
"More recently, James Gerber has used our platform to put a young man through high school. To be rated as the best Startup of the Year, among the most cutting-edge technology and business solutions that the sports world has to offer, is unreal.
“The MatchKit team has worked tirelessly to get to this point, and I wholeheartedly believe that this award is a stepping stone for our global ambitions. Our platform and the services offered will only get better from here.”
IOL Sport