Hichidunta Mwemba: “Letting My Work Speak for Itself Has Been Good”

Zambian sportcaster Hichidunta Mwemba is reaping the rewards of her hard work, as she continues to rise up the ranks in her career.

Mwemba is co-founder of PINKSPORT TV, which is an online channel that creates Zambian sport stories.

Growing up in a sport-loving family, Mwemba was influenced from a tender age to develop a passion for the game.

In 2010, South Africa hosted the FIFA World Cup, which motivated Mwemba to get into the sport media industry.

She reveals that women in sport such as South Africa’s rugby anchor Motshidisi Mohono and Uganda’s award-winning journalist Usher Komugisha, as her inspirations.

Mwemba’s ambition is to grow PINKSPORT TV into a multimedia production, which will provide employment to upcoming women in sport.

Speaking with gsport’s Tlamelo Kganakga, Mwemba reveals more about her journey and state of sport media in Zambia.

Hichidunta, thank you for chatting to gsport! Please tell us about yourself and where you are from.

My name is Hichidunta Jane Mwemba, a first born daughter of Mr and Mrs Mwemba. I am a Sports Broadcaster, Analyst and Writer from Zambia and also co-founder of PINKSPORT TV, which is an online channel that creates Zambian sport stories in various sporting disciplines.

When and where did your love for sport begin?

My love for sport began during my high school days. I participated in athletics, played football and basketball. My family environment also contributed because we used to watch events like the World Cup, Euros and Olympics as a family so that ignited the passion for sport more.

Please tell us about your journey that progressed to you being a part of SuperSport, also juggling being a writer at Zamfoot.

I took the first step after South Africa hosted the 2010 World Cup and seeing all the ladies who were involved off and on camera really motivated me. In 2013, I volunteered at Zambezi FM, a local radio station in Livingston, Zambia for a year just to get the experience and the basics of radio. The following year I enrolled at Varsity and luckily, they had a College Radio station and without hesitation, without knowing anyone, I signed to be an on Air Presenter and they gladly gave me that opportunity for free of course, and money was the last thing on my mind.

I did this for three years, every weekday from 1pm-2pm and I learnt a lot, became knowledgeable about radio and more doors opened and that’s how a local website Zambianfootball.com (Zamfoot) approached me to join the team and be involved in writing pre-match, post-match and match reports for the Zambian League, with all these baby steps… my ultimate goal was to be the first woman to be on SuperSport Pitchside in Zambia to either present or analyse Zambian Super League and you know what they say, the universe gave me a sign in 2018 when SuperSport advertised that they want broadcasters and analysts to be part of the production team in Zambia boy.. was I?

I quickly sent my CV and videos and few months later then I was called for audition (2018), two years later (2020) that’s when they called me, and my first assignment was to produce and present on a show called (BOLA SPOTLIGHT) that saw me travel around Zambia and interview top players and these interviews were used during build-up on match days.

Then in 2021, my dream became a reality when I made my debut on Pitchside in March 2021 as an analyst, becoming the first female in Zambia for a cup competition called the ABSA Cup from the quarterfinals to the finals and I have been part of that three years in a row for SuperSport.

Along your career so far, what challenges have you overcome?

It’s not easy managing all this above because you have family, work, and social life that needs your attention, so what has worked for me is that SuperSport it’s only on weekends and it’s not every month and it gives me time to work on other projects like MC and my new show called Soccer which runs on PINKSPORT TV during the week.

As a woman in sport, you are judged before you even open your mouth to say something, because you are a woman. I remember it took time for me to ask questions in conference rooms because you don’t belong here but after working on myself, working hard and letting my work speak for itself, has been good.

Secondly and most common challenges is male colleagues and male footballers, not all but some trying to make advances before giving you a story or an opportunity so what l told myself even before reaching this far is to be disciplined and professional.

Another challenge I have faced, it takes time to be accepted and so how I have overcome that is to deliver and be exceptionally good at it and that whatever everyone else thinks or says does not get to me.

What are some of your career highlights?

Being assigned by the Football Association of Zambia (FAZ) to be the Media Officer for the Zambian U-17 Girls at the COSAFA Championship in 2020 was definitely a career highlight I hold dearly and at that time COVID-19 was really high.

Being on Pitchside for SuperSport for live games in my country is definitely a milestone that I always look back at and lastly the most recent one is covering the COSAFA men’s championship in Durban, South Africa from the 4-17 July 2022.

Which sportswomen do you admire and why?

We have a lot of women doing amazing things in the sport media space but the following top my list, Usher Komugisha of Uganda is someone I get inspiration from because she keeps breaking boundaries and still remains humble and grounded and is not too busy when you want to reach her on the few times we have talked.

Second one has to be Diana Chikotesha from Zambia, a FIFA assistant referee who was from the remote village areas of Zambia and never wore shoes because her mum could not afford, but now she keeps flying the Zambian flag high by working on global assignments and she will be at the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup. Her background did not limit her, she went against all odds.

Motshidisi Mohono from Supersport South Africa is one super woman, I admire as well, her work during the Rugby World Cup in 2020 showed that anything is possible for a girl child.

How do you think sport media has developed in the last 5 years and what can be done to improve it in Africa?

Sport media has improved in a sense that journalists are able to put their work online and people can have access to it anytime and where. We have more and more women in Africa who are not in fear anymore to be counted among those disseminating information in the sport media space.

When it comes to how it can improve, we need a fair share of coverage when it comes to broadcasting. A lot needs to be done on other sporting disciplines like tennis, basketball, netball, cricket and not just soccer.

From your observation, what is the state of women in the sport media space in Zambia as compared to other African countries?

The state of women in sport media has grown over the years, we have seen more women working as camera operators, producers, media offers for Ccubs in the Zambian Super League and with the rise of women’s football, a Women’s Super League was introduced two years ago, plus the qualification to the FIFA Women’s World Cup. I can say in Zambia the narrative is changing because more women are stepping up.

South Africa is hosting various women’s world cup tournaments. How do you think this will impact women’s sport and have an effect on African countries?

2023 is a busy and beautiful year for women in sport and this will impact women’s sport in a positive way because it will mean more opportunities for us working in front and behind the camera.

It will also mean that new stars will be born and the world will know them. For African countries hosting, it’s an opportunity to show that the continent can host major tournaments.

I’m looking forward to seeing more corporates and sponsors to come on board to see to it that women are appreciated.

What’s your greatest career ambition?

My greatest career ambition in the next five years, beginning this year is to cover the Africa Cup of Nations for both men/women, World Cup, Olympics and tell more African sports stories. My other ambition is to grow PINKSPORT TV into a Multimedia Production that will provide employment to upcoming women in sport.

What’s your advice for women who want to get into the sport media space?

My advice to the women who want to be in sport media is that they must be their authentic self and not be like the next person. They must have a genuine passion for sport and be professional at all times, it’s a beautiful space to work in but mistakes will be made and this should not define who they are. Lastly, they need to work 10 times harder than the men and look good while doing it. THE POSSIBILITIES ARE ENDLESS.