Sportscaster and sports marketing manager Christine Midzi is on a mission to build the largest sports marketing agency in Africa.
At a young age, the Zimbabwean-born fell in love with sport as she played tennis, hockey, and rugby at school.
She later ventured into broadcasting at UCT Radio, which kick-started her career in both broadcasting and marketing.
Midzi is currently the Marketing and Media Manager at Golden Eagles FC and manages her partnership with Real Betis in Spain.
When she is not wearing her corporate hat, Midzi is broadcastinf on Zimbabwe’s national radio station, ZiFM.
Speaking with Tlamelo Kganakga, Midzi chats about closing the visibility gap in women’s sport and shares advice to young girls who aspire to break into the sport industry.
Christine, thank you for chatting to us. Please introduce yourself to our readers.
My name is Christine Midzi. I’m a sportscaster and sports marketing manager in Zimbabwe.
When and where did your love for sport begin?
My dad absolutely loved sport, so from a young age I was encouraged to participate. I played tennis and hockey and a bit of rugby during school and began sports broadcasting soon after I moved back to Zimbabwe. My experience at UCT Radio also helped tremendously so I could immediately get stuck in.
What does a typical day in your life look like?
A typical day for me starts at 5.30 am with a run or gym. I then go to my corporate role, where I manage a number of partnerships including one with Real Betis in Spain. After my corporate role, I go straight to radio for a 6pm start. In between all of this I do have a few calls and requests for Golden Eagles FC where I am the marketing and media manager.
What are some of the challenges you have faced in your journey?
There is still quite a lot of discrimination in terms of women in sports broadcasting and sports management. You have to work that much harder. I had to fight very hard to become a sportscaster because some people believed I shouldn’t do “the sports thing.”
What do you love most about your job?
Which one? Lol I think what I enjoy about all 3 of my roles is I have the opportunity to be creative and do different things. The directors I report to in all 3 roles really give me room and scope to experiment and resource me accordingly.
How do you manage all your roles?
Lots of time sacrifices. More often than not I am working and that can take a toll on different relationships but 7 years in I’ve learn to schedule everything including things as simple as brunch with friends, so I ensure I make time for everything.
What are some of your highlights?
Most recently watching the Copa Del Rey semi-final hosted by our partners Real Betis was absolutely fantastic. We also got to watch Real Betis taking on Atletico Madrid in pitch side seats. Across my career I’ve got to meet some incredible athletes like Luc Mbah Moute, Samuel Eto’o, Amanda Dlamini, Claudio Bravo and those were all fantastic!
What do you think of women’s sport in Zimbabwe and the African continent?
We need our countries and federations to get more serious and strategic about women’s sport. It’s going to take a collective push for us to get our athletes and teams competing at the highest level.
Looking back at the last 5 years, has the coverage of women’s sport changed both online and print in Africa?
Definitely. There is a lot more coverage of women’s sport. We still have a long way to go in terms of visibility, but we definitely have more competitions being covered and increasing interest.
What do you think needs to be done to close the visibility gap between men and women in sponsorship?
Strategic partnerships need to be built between corporate sponsors and broadcasters. We also need to take advantage of social media platforms to develop interest and increase eyeballs.
It will still take time to “catch up” but as we’ve seen the big broadcasters step up and increase visibility, this has helped. Also using social media efficiently, we’ve seen that with the current Women’s Africa Cup of Nations. There has been some good work done there to create content and leverage on these platforms.
What do you do for fun?
I’m a foodie, so trying new restaurants and recipes.
What is your greatest career ambition?
I would like to build Africa’s largest sports marketing agency.
What is it that people don’t know about you?
Tough question! I’m an open book.
What progress still needs to be made when it comes to sponsoring women’s sport?
We need to build better and possibly even different value propositions than the men’s game. It’s not only about the eyeballs and bums in seats for the women’s game. There is more to offer.
How receptive are sports fans towards women in sports media in your part of the world?
When I started out women in sports media were few and far between. The increase has resulted in an increase in acceptance, but we are still a strange sight to some. There is still a lot of disbelief in our skillsets.
What’s your advice to aspiring women in sponsorship?
Have a solid marketing background if you can, work in advertising and media. It will build your marketing toolkit and you’ll be a much more rounded marketer.
Photo 1 Caption: Sportscaster and sports marketing manager Christine Midzi is on a mission to build the largest sports marketing agency in Africa. Photo: Supplied
(0 rating, 0 votes, rated)
Loading...
