Advocacy for women in sports journalism

By Humairaa Mayet

Edited by Tasmiyah Randeree & Imaan Moosa

Palesa Motshoene, a football analyst and writer for ‘Her Football Hub’, talks to us about why — now more than ever — we must advocate for women in all spheres of life, especially those once dominated by men.

I urge you to watch anything that is televised, any women's sports like netball, read articles, research about women's sports, athletes, their challenges, etc. Advise girl children at home to go participate in sports and support them. Create educational and sporting academies for women that will nurture their sporting talent while they study.

Sports journalism, much like sports itself, is almost entirely male-centric and women often find themselves on the sidelines. Commentators, reporters, and journalists covering any and all sports are — more often than not — men and women’s voices tend to be marginalized in such settings.

Extremely passionate about sports ever since she was just a little girl, Palesa Motsheone is now advocating for greater roles for women, not only in sports but in the field of sports journalism too.

“Mornings at the gym”. Photo: Provided.

While talking to To EmpowHER, Palesa fondly reminisced about playing netball after school and pinpointed this social activity as what inspired her to enter the sports industry.

As she grew older, Motsheone found herself growing increasingly disappointed in the state of sports reporting in South Africa and this strongly motivated her career choice

If more emphasis were put into televising and giving financial support to women's sports then everyone would have to have a different attitude towards women's sports.

Motsheone was made increasingly aware of the fact that men dominated sports and women often found themselves on the periphery from her experience working in the field, and even before her entrance into sports journalism.

This inspired her to draw attention toward women in sports, thus began her journey with Her Football Hub, a publication based in the United Kingdom, which seeks to highlight achievements made by women in football around the world.

Her Football Hub

Motsheone has covered an array of topics and events during her time as a journalist. Many of them have focused on men in sports, but, as often as she possibly can, she attempts to shine a light on women in the field.

Regardless of the subject matter, she reports on, Motsheone ensures that she does it from the perspective of a woman and often uses her journalistic stories to articulate the struggles faced by women in sports.

I mean, when a country goes and participates at the Olympics, they take both their male and female athletes to go and represent the country, so why not invest in women?

Motsheone, who holds a national diploma in sport management and an advanced diploma in business management and is currently studying for a PGDip in business management, has acknowledged that sport does not significantly contribute to the South African economy in any way, shape, or form.

“I miss face-to-face contact” - the pandemic has changed everything. Photo: Provided.

“While sports in other countries is the biggest contributor to their economies, unfortunately, in South Africa, there is a lack of opportunities for those who have studied anything related to sports.

There is neither vigor nor vision for the sports, arts, and culture in this country because they don't take the sector seriously,” said Motsheone.

This, however, should not demotivate men and women alike from entering the field of sports journalism as the opportunities in other countries, and even online, are myriad.

How to Build a Career as a Successful Sports Journalist

Although sports journalism is not a widely favored career choice in South Africa, Motsheone has encouraged all who are passionate about sports reporting to pursue it.

There is no one way to become a sports journalist. Motsheone explains, “Women can get into communication but venture into sports journalism because the women's games need to be spoken about, women need the space to be seen and heard.”

Professionals in the industry can advocate for women in sports by showcasing, writing more content of women's sports, having campaigns that seek to promote women's sports and different athletes.

They can dedicate a page in a publication about women's sports or even create a publication, which is only about women's sports. They can have different lobby groups that will advocate at high levels for women to be funded in sports and television.

Advocacy for women in sports should start as early as possible. “I think boy children have been nurtured and groomed to be sports stars more than girl children have because a girl’s place in the future is somewhere else, outside of the sports field,” says Motsheone.

This type of thinking needs to be stopped in its tracks.

6 Stories of Women in Sports to Inspire Young Athletes

From a young age, girls must be encouraged to pursue things that they enjoy and feel passionate about. If one of these things is sports, the love for it must be nurtured within these girls, just as it is often in their male counterparts.

Occasionally, it is only once they find themselves in the industry that individuals come to the realization that their aspirations do not have to be as narrow as they had once believed.

Cooking and baking are some of Palesa’s favorite pastimes. Photo: Provided.

Here, people realize that sports contain within itself multitudes, and careers like commentating, reporting, and journalism are made possible.

It is absolutely imperative that advocacy for women in sports is brought to the forefront and those young girls are inspired to pursue careers in the many realms of sports.