A UNIQUE partnership between a UK-based sports agency and a sports tech organisation will pave the way for African athletes to boost their brand, raise their profile and help them secure commercial support.
ProTouch Africa has more than 30 years of experience in working with sportspeople, clubs and federations to create strategies to help African athletes build their personal brand.
And now the organisation has teamed up with the Athlete Media Group (AMG) which works with elite athletes at the top of their game across a number of disciplines, to combine their knowledge and create solutions so that African sportspeople can reach their potential.
Rebecca Eliot of ProTouch, said that one of the biggest challenges facing athletes “is that of funding and that is particularly true in Africa.”
“We understand that at first hand, having supported 26 road cyclists from six African countries – including five national champions and one African continental champions – as part of Africa’s UCI Continental cycling team for three years,” she said.
With that in mind, ProTouch has been developing its Athlete Impact Investment Platform – Podium Pursuit – which will be the first of its kind to be owned by fans and which will help to generate funds through those fans and other brands, to support African athletes.
The scheme will be further enhanced by the partnership with AMG – which works with scores of top athletes, Olympians and Paralympians – to help them grow their brand but also to showcase their wider interests under the company’s “powered with purpose” mantra
Working with AMG will allow ProTouch to offer athletes a range of services including personal branding, media exposure and commercial opportunities. Rebecca said that the around 4000 top African athletes are being approached about engaging with Podium Pursuit.
“We plan to activate their 30 million fans globally, alongside a range of brands, in the lead up to Paris 2024 and beyond,” she said. Mark Middlemas, CEO and founder of AMG, is excited about the new partnership and its potential.
“This gives us an important footprint in the fast-growing African sports market,” said Mark, who’s current stable of athletes includes England Women’s rugby captain, Marlie Packer, double Olympic gold medallist Hannah Mills OBE and top female triathlete Sophie Coldwell.
“We look forward to helping to create, develop and grow the personal brands of these talented athletes by bringing their powerful sporting stories to life, while creating meaningful connections for them with carefully curated brand partners.”