Play_Connect

An inclusive AI-powered sports platform connecting athletes, fans, scouts, and clubs through Web, SMS, USSD, and Voice. Built for the Africa's Talking Women in Tech Hackathon 2026.

PlayConnect

Every Athlete. Every Fan. Every Phone.

PlayConnect is an AI-powered, mobile-first sports platform built to connect athletes, fans, scouts, coaches, and clubs across Africa. By combining Artificial Intelligence with Africa's Talking APIs, PlayConnect ensures that everyone can participate in sports regardless of their location, internet connectivity, or the type of phone they own.

Built for the Africa's Talking Women in Tech Hackathon 2026.

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📖 Table of Contents

• About
• Problem Statement
• Our Solution
• Key Features
• Why PlayConnect?
• Technology Stack
• System Architecture
• Project Structure
• Installation
• Environment Variables
• Running the Project
• API Endpoints
• Africa's Talking Integration
• AI Features
• Future Roadmap
• Team
• License

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🌍 About

Millions of talented athletes across Africa never get discovered because they lack visibility, while fans in underserved communities miss important sports updates due to limited internet access.

PlayConnect bridges this gap by providing an inclusive sports ecosystem where athletes, fans, scouts, and clubs can connect using:

• 🌐 Web
• 📱 SMS
• ☎️ USSD
• 📞 Voice

Whether someone owns a smartphone or a feature phone, PlayConnect ensures they are not left behind.

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🚨 Problem Statement

Many existing sports platforms assume users have:

• Smartphones
• Reliable internet
• High digital literacy

This leaves behind millions of athletes and fans.

Challenges include:

• Hidden sports talent
• Limited athlete exposure
• Difficult talent discovery
• Poor fan engagement
• Exclusion of feature phone users

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💡 Our Solution

PlayConnect is an AI-powered sports ecosystem that connects:

🏃 Athletes

❤️ Fans

🔍 Scouts

🏆 Clubs

👨‍🏫 Coaches

through Web, SMS, USSD, and Voice technologies.

Our mission is to ensure no athlete or fan is excluded because of technology.

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⭐ Key Features

👤 Athlete Module

• Athlete Registration
• Digital Sports ID
• AI Profile Optimizer
• Career Guidance
• Recruitment Notifications

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❤️ Fan Module

• Follow Local & International Teams
• Live Match Updates
• Match Predictions
• Leaderboards
• SMS Alerts
• AI Sports Assistant

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🔍 Scout Module

• Discover Athletes
• Filter by Sport
• View Athlete Profiles
• Contact Athletes

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🤖 AI Features

• AI Sports Assistant
• AI Rule Explainer
• AI Career Coach
• AI Profile Optimizer
• Personalized Sports Recommendations

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📱 Accessibility

PlayConnect works on:

• Smartphones
• Feature Phones

Through:

• Web
• SMS
• USSD
• Voice

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🌟 Why PlayConnect?

Unlike traditional sports platforms, PlayConnect prioritizes accessibility and inclusion.

Our platform:

✅ Supports multiple sports

✅ Works on feature phones

✅ Uses Artificial Intelligence

✅ Integrates Africa's Talking APIs

✅ Connects athletes directly to opportunities

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⚽ Supported Sports

PlayConnect is designed to support both local and international sports, including:

• Football
• Basketball
• Netball
• Volleyball
• Rugby
• Athletics
• Cricket
• Tennis
• Boxing
• Swimming
• Cycling
• Handball
• Motorsport
• Esports

More sports can easily be added.

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🛠 Technology Stack

Frontend

• React
• Tailwind CSS

Backend

• FastAPI
• Python

Database

• SQLite
• SQLAlchemy

Artificial Intelligence

• Gemini API

Communication

Africa's Talking APIs

• SMS
• USSD
• Voice
• Airtime
• Payments (Future)

Deployment

• Render

Version Control

• GitHub

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🏗 System Architecture

                    React + Tailwind

                           │

                     FastAPI Backend

                           │

         ┌─────────────────┼──────────────────┐

     Gemini AI      Africa's Talking APIs     SQLite

                     SMS • USSD • Voice

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📂 Project Structure

playconnect/

│

├── backend/

│   ├── app/

│   ├── database/

│   ├── models/

│   ├── routes/

│   ├── services/

│   ├── schemas/

│   ├── utils/

│   ├── main.py

│   └── requirements.txt

│

├── frontend/

│   ├── src/

│   ├── public/

│   └── package.json

│

├── docs/

├── assets/

├── screenshots/

├── README.md

└── LICENSE

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⚙ Installation

Clone Repository

git clone https://github.com/YOUR_USERNAME/playconnect.git

cd playconnect

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Backend

cd backend

python -m venv venv

source venv/bin/activate

Windows

venv\Scripts\activate

Install dependencies

pip install -r requirements.txt

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Frontend

cd frontend

npm install

npm run dev

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🔑 Environment Variables

Create a .env file.

DATABASE_URL=

GEMINI_API_KEY=

AT_API_KEY=

AT_USERNAME=

AT_SHORTCODE=

SECRET_KEY=

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▶ Running Backend

uvicorn main:app --reload

Backend runs on:

http://127.0.0.1:8000

Swagger Documentation

http://127.0.0.1:8000/docs

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📡 Sample API Endpoints

Authentication

POST /register

POST /login

Athletes

GET /athletes

POST /athletes

GET /athletes/{id}

Fans

POST /follow-team

GET /teams

Predictions

POST /predictions

GET /leaderboard

AI

POST /ai/chat

Africa's Talking

POST /sms/send

POST /ussd

POST /voice

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📱 Africa's Talking Integration

SMS

• Registration confirmation
• Recruitment alerts
• Match reminders

USSD

Example:

*384#

1 Register Athlete

2 Follow Team

3 Today's Fixtures

4 Match Predictions

5 AI Sports Tips

6 My Profile

Voice

• Sports Rules
• Match Updates
• Training Tips

Airtime

• Prediction Rewards
• Competition Winners

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🤖 AI Features

The Gemini AI powers:

• Sports Assistant
• Career Guidance
• Rule Explainer
• Athlete Profile Optimizer
• Personalized Recommendations

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🚀 Future Roadmap

• Video Highlights
• Tournament Management
• Coach Dashboard
• WhatsApp Bot
• Live Match Commentary
• Event Ticketing
• Sponsorship Marketplace
• Community Sports
• School Sports
• Fitness Tracking

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👩‍💻 Team

Project Lead

Grace Nakiyemba

Built by Team PlayConnect for the Africa's Talking Women in Tech Hackathon.

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❤️ Our Vision

"Talent should never be limited by location, internet connectivity, or the type of phone someone owns."

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🏁 Tagline

PlayConnect

Every Athlete. Every Fan. Every Phone.

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📜 License

This project is licensed under the MIT License.

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🙏 Acknowledgements

• Africa's Talking
• Women in Technology (WIT)
• The open-source community
• Our mentors, teammates, and supporters