Sinenjabulo Zungu: “Working in a Male Dominated Industry is Nothing New to Me”

Having started out with a marketing degree from the University of Cape Town, to being the CEO of AmaZulu FC, Sinenjabulo Ntandoyenkosi Zungu continues to change the game.

Having been raised by strong women, Zungu sees herself playing a significant role in the upliftment and empowerment of women, in the workplace as well as in the greater South African community.

In 2017, Sine as she is affectionately known, became CEO of Qhubeka Forensic Services: a company that was established in 2005 and has a national footprint that focuses on Forensic Audit, Fraud Risk Management, Legal Support and Data Analytics.

Zungu is a firm believer in education being the key to unlocking success and she continues to reinvent and nurture herself in the spaces she finds herself in.

With all these above mentioned boss moves, gsport writer Oarabile Diphoko found it fitting to get to know this phenomenal game-changer a little bit better.

Sine, thank you for chatting to us. You studied Business Science and have an honours degree in Marketing from the University of Cape Town. You then went on to get an International MBA from the IE Business School in Madrid, Spain. Tell us a little bit more about your education and the motive behind these studies.

Correct, I did my undergrad in Business Science where I started off with Finance as my major. I soon developed an affinity towards marketing, more specifically, consumer behavior and the ‘manipulation’ of the buyers. The change to marketing as a major of course changed my trajectory. Nine years later, I embarked on my MBA journey to learn more academically, in leadership, in business and culturally, hence the choice to pack my bags and go study abroad.

What inspired you to eventually venture into this undeniably male-dominated space of sports, more especially football?

Working in a male-dominated industry is nothing new to me. I have worked with men, I have lead with men and I have led men. I believe this industry chose me. It courted me and is now well etched in my heart. Our relationship is young, but it is growing daily from strength to strength. Deciding to be a part of football is probably one of the best decisions I’ve ever made career-wise.

What impact are you hoping to have in South African football?

I really would love to see more women, younger women, at the helm of football clubs and the governing bodies of football structures. A seat at those tables means so much more because that is where you have a voice and the potential to influence the direction that football should take at club level as well as the mother bod(ies). This will start with me employing more women at club level and encouraging them to have a say.

I would also love to play a role in which players are well taken-care off from a career and post career perspective so as to circumvent the challenges they face once their football careers are over. I truly believe that as clubs and governing body of professional leagues, we have a duty to motivate, inspire and up-skill players outside of their short-spanned careers.

With all you are involved in, including the being the incumbent CEO of AmaZulu FC, what does a day in your life look like?

Believe it or not, AmaZulu takes up lot if not most of my time. Every single day is different. Not only am I involved at a strategic level, but I am operational making me very hands-on and running around with the staff.

Talk to us about the importance of media coverage for women in sport.

It is absolutely critical. Representation matters. It matters to a ‘Sine’ in the industry and it matters to a ‘Jane’ who perhaps may not be in the industry. It tells a story of possibilities; the possibility of entering the sporting world, excelling and thriving as a professional sportswoman. We need to see more good stories of women in football, be it administratively, technically or as a sportswoman.

With Banyana Banyana’s recent WAFCON triumph in July, there has been a lot more attention on women’s football. I know it was announced that Amazulu will be launching a women’s side. Can you tell us a little bit more about that?

In the next year or two we would definitely love to be one of the teams who have invested in a women’s team. We are working on it. If we are a club that is striving to be world class, purports to be inclusive and characterized by evolution, then we owe it to ourselves and the South African community to be exemplary in that respect too.

What advice can you give aspiring young women who are looking to breaking into the sport industry?

Just do it! Once you’ve done ‘it’, look after yourself mentally and emotionally, too.

Lastly, what do you wish for women’s sport going forward?

I wish for it to be taken as seriously and respected as men’s sport. It deserves the level of commitment that men’s sport gets. I think women have paid their dues in terms of play, as they have administratively.

Photo 1 Caption: Having started out with a marketing degree from the University of Cape Town, to being the CEO of Amazulu FC, Sinenjabulo Ntandoyenkosi Zungu continues to change the game. Photo: Supplied