Wimbledon history maker Kgothatso Montjane has been in the game long enough to know that to really make it far, you need to have sincere supporters around you.
This week, she joined an influential panel of women in sport in a Twitter Space to address the topic of Closing the Visibility Gap and acknowledged the gap that exists between Africa and the rest of the world.
“We don’t even match the standards of financial support compared to other countries out there. As Africans, we are still way too far behind to catch up. If I tell you, some of the lowest ranked players in wheelchair tennis are well sponsored compared to some of the best players we have here in South Africa, not only in women’s sport, in wheelchair tennis in general. That shows you how wide the gap is. We still far away, there is a lot to catch up on.”
While acknowledging the challenges, Montjane urged her fellow sportswomen not to give up no matter how hard it got.
“I would love to believe the exposure that we keep getting, those journalists that keep putting our stories out there, will definitely make a difference.” – World no. 5 Wheelchair Tennis star, Kgothatso Montjane
“At the moment, it is for us as athletes not to give up, but just to hold on, and pave the way for the next generation because it’s a long way to go, so some of us who are in the forefront and are fortunate to be playing at that high level, we just have to make a point to just hold on and keep pushing these stories until we see change.”
Montjane knows all about toughing it out, and for many years, almost singlehandedly build her brand. Back on 1 August 2018, she blogged on gsport: “For me to succeed going forward, I need sponsors. Having sponsors will help me get all the necessary resources that I need to become world number 1. It will also take away the worries and stress of all financial constraints that I have at the moment.”
A few weeks after she penned that blog, news came in that Montjane was taken under the wing of leading sponsorship expert, and CEO of Optimize Agency, Emy Casaletti-Bwalya, who said at the time:
“We hope Kgothatso can become a self-sustainable athlete with a lot to offer both sponsors and South Africans at large as an inspirational force to be reckoned with.”
Since Montjane and Momentum gsport Awards Woman in PR and Sponsorship finalist, Casaletti-Bwalya, have come together, they have worked out to be a dream pair. Montjane delivers the goods on and off the field, and Casaletti signs the deals with brands who see the value in partnering with one of South Africa’s greatest athletes.
Saluting Emy Casaletti-Bwalya’s Pioneering Sports Business Journey
Three times that gsport reported on KG Montjane signing major sponsorship deals in 2021:
Kgothatso Montjane Joins Vitality as Ambassador
Montjane Keen To Convert Custom Wheelchair Into Rankings
Montjane Keen to Convert Custom Wheelchair into Rankings Gains
Isuzu Announces KG Montjane as Brand Ambassador
Photo Caption: Kgothatso Montjane pictured at #GAL2021 at the Radisson RED Hotel in Rosebank, when the world no. 5 wheelchair tennis star was unveiled among gsport’s top ten Newsmakers of the year. Photo: gsport / Rosetta Msimango