Meet Springbok World Cup hero Bryan Habana who is helping athletes get back on the track

Athletes would have descended on Tokyo in July and August this year, hoping that four years of sweat and blood would bring them the glory of an Olympic medal. But their dreams have been dashed by the Covid-19 pandemic. It has affected every single sports star with a resultant loss in income. New Zealand's rugby players will be the world's first sports people to play in front of crowds as it had eliminated Covid-19 from its shores, but Covid-19 is likely to hang around in most other countries for the foreseeable future. Organisers of other major sports events have tried to put together events without crowds, but have had difficulties luring big names to participate. The US Tennis Open Championship suggested that every player should arrive with just one team mate for this year’s championship in September, but last year’s winner Rafa Nadal indicated that he would not be interested if that is how the event would be run. So, what do athletes do in the interim to earn money and stay relevant? World Cup winning Springbok legend and try scoring machine Bryan Habana has teamed up with a former school mate, Mike Sharman to launch Matchkit.co – a platform that gives athletes a solution to grow their commercial brands. The pair’s sporting agency, Retroactive.digital, which they founded with Ben Karpinski and Shaka Sisulu won the Sport Industry’s Young agency of the Year award in November 2019. – Linda van Tilburg