Cape Town – MatchKit, a sports tech startup, has achieved a remarkable victory by being awarded Startup of the Year at the prestigious 2023 Sports Technology Awards in New York.
The recognition places MatchKit among some of the most renowned brands in the sports industry, such as NBA, Apple, Warner Bros. Discovery, World Athletics, and the ICC.
Co-founder Mike Sharman, who personally accepted the award, expressed his team’s excitement in realising their dream of providing commercial opportunities for marginalised athletes and those involved in “Cinderella Sports”.
MatchKit’s platform was launched during the Covid-19 pandemic and has since made significant contributions to the sporting world.
The platform’s technology was instrumental in powering SA Hockey’s journey to the Tokyo Olympic Games.
Additionally, MatchKit facilitated a movement to support Olympic medalists when the Sports Ministry declared a lack of funds, resulting in over R400 000 being raised within a week.
Recently, the platform was used by James Gerber to fund a young man’s high school education.
“Our tech has been used to power SA Hockey to the Tokyo Olympic Games, it was the vehicle for a movement to reward our Olympic medalists with more than R400 000 in less than a week when the Sports Ministry said its commercial coffers were empty, and 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, amongst the most cutting-edge technology and business solutions that the sports world has to offer, is absolutely unreal,” Sharman said.
He added: “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.”
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Compiled by Betha Madhomu
