Contraversy around new South African scheme backed by Chad Le Clos

Sportbotworld promises to generate sustainable income for athletes and investors alike by allowing individuals to invest in a sportsperson’s personal brand. 

However, critics have alleged that the company misrepresents its offering to athletes and claims people would lose their money by using the platform. 

Sportbotworld has signed up well-known South African athletes such as Chad Le Clos, Stefan Terblanche, and Anrich Nortje to its platform. 

The company has been thrust into the spotlight recently following City Press’ report that Springbok head coach Rassie Erasmus refused to sign up on legal advice from his lawyer. 

Frikkie Erasmus, Rassie’s lawyer, also warned former World Rugby referee Jaco Peyper against joining the platform. Peyper has since requested his profile be removed from Sportbotworld’s website. 

In response to questions from Daily Investor, Sportbotworld founder Dr Johan Bosch clarified what the company aims to do and addressed the allegations against it from Erasmus. 

Bosch describes the platform as a twist on baseball card trading by enabling athletes to raise funds by selling shares in their personal brand, which investors can then trade on Sportbotworld. 

He was clear that Sportbotworld was not a betting company, a crypto trading platform, or involved in trading Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs). 

The company describes itself as similar to a traditional stock exchange, through which investors can buy or trade shares in the personal brands of athletes. These shares are referred to as certificates on the platform. 

This is to make it easier to understand. Bosch made clear that it is not “definitely not a share and definitely not a stock exchange”. 

“It is like a share, and we sometimes refer to shares to make the concept easier to understand.” 

After joining Sportbotworld, athletes receive a unique QR code, which can then be used to onboard fans (investors), who can then sell their certificates in exchange for access to exclusive content.  

Each Sportbot Certificate initially sells for 1 POLC Token (R20.00). Buyers of Certificates now have access to the athletes’ exclusive content, which the athlete must provide. 

On its beta app the athlete’s name and bio are provided at no consideration to members. However, the following three categories are “Paid for Content”:

•  What’s trending (1 x POLC Token in athlete required)
• Frequently asked questions (5 x POLC Tokens Required) – This gives fans access to exclusive information the athlete or player has not shared elsewhere.
• Video media (10 x POLC Tokens) – This gives fans access to coaching tips, stories, and other content from the athletes. 

“So, to really dumb it down, it’s like buying a stamp for your stamp collection.  For as long as you own your stamp collection, you may take it out of the cupboard and look at it. Perhaps you can one day sell it at a profit or loss.” 

When a Sportbot Member buys a Primary Certificate, the player or athlete receives 90% of the funds deposited into his or her account, which can be withdrawn immediately. 5% is paid out as referral commissions per transaction. 

Once primary Sportbot Certificates have been sold, these same Certificates can now be traded on the Sportbot Global Marketplace at any price between willing buyers and willing sellers. 

Allegations of misrepresentation

The lawyer for Rassie Erasmus and Jaco Peyper, Frikkie Erasmus, explained to the City Press why he recommended that his clients not sign up for the platform. 

Frikkie did not respond to Daily Investor’s request for comment. 

“It’s an unacceptable concept to me, and I couldn’t get satisfactory answers to my questions,” said Frikkie. 

“There were many aspects of it that made no sense, and it was concerning that the scheme would be operated by an offshore company with no assets and no recourse.”

“Everything pointed to misrepresentations where unsuspecting people would lose their money with promises of quick wealth.”

Frikkie said he had a phone call with Bosch to get more information about the scheme after Rassie was approached to join the platform. 

“His explanation of the business model didn’t make sense to me, and explanations of certain questions raised red flags for me.”

Among other things, he claimed that he had patented the concept and that it was protected. And when I pointed out to him that a concept is not patentable and that I would like to see the patent specification and registration number, he was evasive.” 

“He indicated that the company’s head of legal affairs, Advocate Saninke du Rand, handled it and that he would get the information to me. I never received it.”

Frikkie claimed that Sportbot had no assets.

“If you tell an uninformed person that the product is patented, they immediately think there is legitimacy, while no patent exists.”

“Now, two years later, the Mauritius company has been replaced by a completely new company registered in London, without any indication of what happened to the initial Mauritius company.”

According to him, Bosch said at the time that MyPlayers, which looked after the interests of professional players in South Africa, was on board.

When Frikkie approached Eugene Henning, CEO of MyPlayers, he denied this claim.

Bosch’s response

When asked by Daily Investor to respond to these allegations, Bosch said he would prefer not to dwell on them. 

“I want to clarify that my interactions with him have been very limited. At the time I spoke to him a few years ago, we had provisional patents filed in South Africa, Australia, India, and Europe,” Bosch said. 

“I would have gladly shared these with him had he reached out.” 

“I hold deep respect for Rassie Erasmus and appreciate his amazing contributions to South African rugby. My invitation to him was simply to join our platform as a listed player or existing coach – without any financial obligation whatsoever.”

“It’s disappointing that Mr. Erasmus has misunderstood our intentions and offerings. Our model is about empowering athletes, and we’re open to any feedback or constructive criticism.”

Bosch encouraged people to read up on Sportbot and see how it works on the company’s website, with some of the athletes’ QR codes already listed there. 

“This is not where you invest money. I have developed this technology over a period of 10 to 15 years, and it is patented.” 

“I have invested millions to bring the platform to where it is now. The ultimate goal is to fund talented players and athletes.”

“We have built the thing so that it must go viral. I want to make it very clear that it is not a Ponzi or pyramid scheme. We are much closer to a fintech media company.”