Discover Sport™, the sport-tech social platform, has formalised a philanthropic lifeline for talented but underfunded athletes with the launch and rapid scale of the Discover Sport™ Foundation. The Foundation provides targeted financial support to athletes who have earned national selection but lack the means to compete internationally — turning selection letters into real trips, entries and dreams realised.
“Finance can be a dismal road for aspiring sports stars who want nothing more than their fair shot at the win,” says Leigh Watson, Founding Director of the Discover Sport™ Foundation. A former national champion and Springbok gymnast who represented South Africa internationally between 1987 and 1994, Watson knows first-hand the cost of competing and the identity that sport builds. “The Discover Sport™ Foundation is seeking to change that for the good — intentionally, sustainably and meaningfully.”
From selection to departure: closing the funding gap
Across historically underfunded sports and markets, athletes routinely miss once-in-a-lifetime opportunities because family resources and national grants fall short. The Foundation targets exactly those moments when selection is real but funding is not, offering grants to athletes who satisfy its eligibility criteria and can demonstrate federation selection documentation.
To date, Discover Sport™ Foundation support has enabled 66 athletes plus coaches to attend international competitions. The Foundation funds itself, in part, through a dedicated portion of Discover Sport™ platform revenues, creating a sustainable funding loop that turns app engagement into athlete support.
A landmark moment — Ashley Lupondo’s country-first
One of the Foundation’s landmark interventions this year saw 16-year-old Ashley Lupondo from Zimbabwe travel to Austria for the Junior Equestrian Vaulting World Championships — a first for her country. Leigh Watson describes Ashley’s story as emblematic of the Foundation’s purpose: “Sport is the world’s most inclusive language, but sadly opportunity has not been evenly accessible. It’s stories like Ashley’s that really add meaning to that feeling of world-class participation.”
The Foundation also backed South African trampoline athletes attending the FIG Trampoline World Championships in Spain this month, highlighting the breadth of disciplines the Foundation supports — from vaulting and trampoline to judo, MTB, climbing, ice skating and team sports that rarely headline broadcast schedules.
How the Foundation works — eligibility and impact
Athletes who wish to apply must:
-
Be officially selected to represent their country at an international event;
-
Have confirmed national colours (as awarded by SASCOC where applicable); and
-
Provide formal federation selection documentation.
Applications are submitted online at: www.discoversport.com/pages/foundation.
Discover Sport™ emphasises that the Foundation is more than one-off aid. It offers a platform for storytelling and visibility that helps athletes attract long-term sponsorship and federation support. A portion of Discover Sport™’s commercial revenue is channelled directly into the Foundation to ensure continuity and measurable impact.
Partnerships and invitations to collaborate
The Foundation already works with corporate partners and airline partners such as Air France and KLM, and is actively inviting corporates, philanthropists, federations and impact-led brands to partner in scaling support. Interested organisations can reach the Foundation at partnerships@discoversport.com.
“This is bigger than one athlete,” Watson says. “This is about rewriting what access can look like for sports that may never dominate headlines, but which shape futures and national pride. We meet athletes in life-defining moments and stand with them so they can belong on the world stage.”
Follow the action
To follow Foundation stories, athlete progress and to register as a Discover Sport™ user, visit www.discoversport.com. Social channels and race/event updates are available via the platform.
