Johannesburg, South Africa – ProTouch announced an exciting partnership with ProTouch Africa, to unlock the full potential of athletes from Africa. This is the first step in igniting a purpose-led fan community with a platform to connect with their favourite African athletes and, be part of the World’s first fan-owned Athlete Impact Fund. 

ProTouch Africa – a sports tech business based in South Africa that provides sports clubs, teams and federations with fan engagement strategies and digital solutions – has assembled an ecosystem, The Podium Pursuit Collective that brings together more than 4,000 top [and potentially top] performing athletes from fifty-four African nations across thirty-six sports codes, their thirty-million fans globally and a network of purpose-led brands that are passionate about seeing more African athletes on the podiums of the World’s biggest sporting events.

“The toughest challenge our athletes face is that of funding and the opportunity to participate in international competitions. This is particularly true in Africa, where even athletes competing in their national teams are forced to self-fund the costs associated with this participation,” said Rebecca Eliot, Founder of The Podium Pursuit Collective. 

With the Paris 2024 Olympic Games on the horizon, the timing could not be more opportune to activate a collective movement that will make a significant impact on the next generation of athletes, in the lead-up to LA2028 and beyond. 

ProTouch Africa and Blocksport have developed a Web3 Fan App – the official Digital Clubhouse for the Collective – providing a platform to unlock value for fans, brands and investors globally. Designed to enable revenue generation through a new digital rights license, the customised fan engagement platform aggregates news and social media, a match centre with upcoming events across multiple sports codes, results and statistics, an e-commerce fan shop with exclusive and replica merchandise from Africa’s best teams and, partner deals for athletes and fans. 

In future versions of the Fan App, fan investors will receive exclusive invitations to purchase digital collectables, premium subscriptions and access investor tokens and the revenue derived from this will be used to further enable the next generation of athletes from Africa.

The Fan App, available in both the Google Play and iOS stores features the top athletes from Africa, a digital Hall of Fame and a Live Blog that showcases African Athletes’ Moments of Glory. 

A key feature of the platform, is its Digital Athlete Profiles providing athletes from Africa, a new way to connect with their fans as well as build and monetize their brand. By strategically building their personal brands, athletes can attract endorsement deals, sponsorship opportunities, and collaborations with companies in various industries. 

“Our AI-powered Marketplace connects brands with top performing athletes who share their values and who wish to leverage their authentic influence and the emotional connections they have with fans, to raise awareness about social and environmental causes as well as connecting current and former athletes to meaningful career opportunities” added Eliot.

Social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram have established monetisation methods in the form of advertising, sponsored posts and paid partnerships but, they do not share this revenue. 

Unlike social media, where algorithms dictate content visibility, The Podium Pursuit Collective Fan App platform provides control over the content experience and interactivity and more importantly, the monetization of this. “By fostering a digital community on our own branded platform, we can curate an environment of authenticity, loyalty and passion that resonates with fans of African athletes and unlocks value for fans, brands and investors” added Eliot.

While the complete Podium Pursuit Collective is planned for release in Q1 2024, the prototype of the Fan App has been released in beta, providing fans and athletes a sneak peek of what is to come. “We will be inviting fans and athletes to participate actively, providing feedback and insights that will shape the final version of the Fan App. This input will be invaluable in ensuring that the final solution reflects the desires and preferences of a dedicated fan community”. 

“Unlocking the potential of African athletes isn’t just about sports; it’s about empowering dreams, overcoming barriers, and creating a legacy of impact. Through our partnership with ProTouch Africa, Blocksport’s commitment extends beyond fan engagement; it’s about enabling a movement that reshapes athlete funding, fuels aspirations, and champions a future where passion meets purpose on the world’s stage.” – Vladimir Liulka, CEO of Blocksport.

Details on how to get early access will soon be unveiled so fans are encouraged to stay connected to Podium Pursuit’s official channels for upcoming announcements.

With a steadfast focus on fan engagement, athlete empowerment, and technological innovation, The Podium Pursuit Collective is poised to make an enduring impact on the world of sports, reshaping the sports investment landscape and revolutionizing athlete funding in Africa forever while championing a more positive future for humanity.

For more information contact Rebecca Eliot at +27 83 656 4632 rebecca@protouch.africa

About 

PROTOUCH is a Sports Tech business founded in 2016, driven by a vision to ignite fan engagement and activate new revenue streams using digital solutions, for sports brands across Africa. 

PROTOUCH is the distributor of the Swiss-based BLOCKSPORT AG Fan Engagement, NFT and Token Platform, enabled by Blockchain technology and providing sporting properties a branded fan app, digital memberships, digital collectables and play-to-earn games. 

In addition to this white-labelled solution, PROTOUCH has built a range of plug-in modules to cater for additional features required by its sporting clients and provides strategic consulting around fan engagement, Web3 and Tokenization as well as implementation, project management and creative execution services.