Lerato Motjale is kicking out glass ceilings in the business of soccer

Lerato Motjale is used to kicking out glass ceilings. She has a lot of firsts on her list and she is far from done yet.

She hails from the dusty streets of Ikageng in the North West province where she matriculated from Potchefstroom High School for Girls before going on to study at the University of Midrand, where she completed a B. Com in sports management.

After leaving university she started working for the Premier Soccer League (PSL) and there she found her work-passion in the form of “the beautiful game of football”.

This is also where she had one of her “firsts” when she became the first female media liaison officer for the PSL. After years of growing and developing, she opened her own consulting company, Leeraz Sports Marketing, which specialises in events, public relations and brand and marketing management.

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Motjale has coordinated and managed the Telkom Charity Cup, the Telkom Knockout, the Nelson Mandela Challenge and the McDonalds Schools League under her own umbrella, as well as that of the PSL.

She has received accolades from the National Empowerment Fund and the Small Enterprise Development Agency, while her achievements in business have also seen her serve on several boards and led to her working as the go-between to secure branding and sponsorship for various companies.

Motjale has broken boundaries in a male-dominated field and continues to do so, while also pursuing a dream of owning her own team and educating young women about sport.

“I am passionate about empowerment and giving back to the community, which I do through my non-profit organisation, Nqoba Home of Hope, where I have been a director for more than a decade. The Home of Hope tackles issues of health, education and social welfare and there we teach young girls, who think they can never go out into the world, beyond their communities that nothing is impossible,” Motjale says.