Carol Tshabalala: Making her mark as a sports broadcaster

As a sports broadcaster at the top of her game, Carol Tshabalala has blazed a trail for women in a socalled man’s world. As such, she sees her horse in today’s R1-million Peermont Emperors Palace Charity Mile as the perfect fit.

Tshabalala has been paired with Tahini, a mare racing in a field made up mostly of males and the horse drawn by The Citizen in the Charity Mile.

“She is so amazing,” says Tshabalala.

“I spoke to Shaun Tarry (Tahini’s trainer) when I went to the stables earlier this week. It is going to be quite an open race but it is going to be tough, because she is racing against the boys.

“I love that we have so much in common, I know what it is like to work in a male-dominated world, so it is a perfect partnership for me. She is also the No 8, that is my number on all my social media. I love the number eight, I was born in August, it is my favourite number.”

Tshabalala has been involved with the Charity Mile for a long time now, and enjoys the race, particularly for what it gives back to society.

“What I love is that it combines sport with a good cause. Nowadays horse racing can be about the fashion show rather than actual racing, but this is an ingenious way to put the spotlight back on horses and the competition.”

Tshabalala’s chosen charity is the Nageng Primary School in Vosloorus.

“I love that the majority of charities are in line with what I believe in, which is children, giving back to education and to victims of abuse. The Nageng Primary School is filled with a lot of girls who just need more funding to upgrade their facilities.”

Tshabalala has three boys of her own – Joel, Mpho and Solomon – and she describes her family as sportsmad. Her love of sport extends far further than the football coverage for which she is famous.

“I love boxing, I love my basketball, I am completely consumed by sport. I have three boys who are sports crazy too. The little one (Solomon) maybe not so much, though he does enjoy watching, participating and coming to stadiums and interacting with the athletes.

“The two other boys are sports crazy – cricket, football and basketball. Mpho is cricket and soccer captain at his school. My eldest (Joel) is at KES, and Mpho will be going there next year.”

This includes, thanks to their mother’s success, the chance to meet legends of the game, including former Chelsea striker Didier Drogba, now with Phoenix Rising FC in the US.

“I went with Joel to Montreal when Drogba was there. I am friends with Didier and we went to dinner afterwards,” she says.

“It was unbelievable … they were playing New York City FC and while we were having dinner Joel also got to meet Patrick Vieira.”

Tshabalala got her first big break in sports broadcasting at the South African Broadcasting Corporation in 2000.

“I always say the job found me. It was meant to be. I came through to the national broadcaster and I knew I wanted to be in broadcasting, and in the entertainment industry, but I definitely didn’t know I wanted to be a sports-caster.

“I started by doing voice-overs and then I started writing my own scripts. I got to cover all different sporting codes. I started at grassroots level, I was doing the Chappies Little League, Bakers Mini Cricket, mini-netball, it was a fantastic way to get introduced to the world of sport.”

Tshabalala went on to become a top sports anchor at the SABC before her move to SuperSport in 2011, from where her career really sky-rocketed.

As well as presenting SuperSport’s coverage of the Premier Soccer League, she also makes regular trips to the UK to work as an anchor for Premier League Productions’ coverage of the English Premier League.

“It is on-going, I am going back next week, it was quite a breakthrough, because I am the only anchor there from outside of the UK.”

Tshabalala’s impact back home, meanwhile, can be seen in the increasing amount of female sports broadcasters gracing our screens.

“I think the standard of broadcasting on SuperSport of the PSL is second to none. We are getting more individuals involved, (female) footballers like Simphiwe Dludlu and Amanda Dlamini are unbelievable with their knowledge of the game and the fans love them.”

See Form Focus for more on the Charity Mile.

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