In last week’s gsport Twitter Space, host Oarabile Diphoko had the pleasure of chatting to award-winning social media manager, Valencia Seshoene, who played a major role in shining the spotlight on the South African U19 ICC T20 World Cup squad.
Speaking on how she got the role, Seshoene said: “It was honestly something I did not expect. The power of networking is amazing because one day I got a call from someone asking if I was available to be the U19 media officer and I said yes on the spot. From that moment onwards, I had the opportunity to be with the team throughout their preparations against India and I slowly integrated into the team.”
The media officer also mentioned the great work that the coaching team did to prepare the ladies for their first ever T20 World Cup.
“The coaches always reminded the girls to always be in the present. This helped the girls to not be overwhelmed with everything else that was happening around them. I also applied this to myself. This was such a huge moment for me as well and those words helped me throughout the tournament.”
Seeing as this was the first of its kind, the girls experienced a lot of things for the first time. Seshoene stated that, for most of them, it was the first time they did interviews and the advice she gave the young stars was to be themselves and lean on her if they ever needed a safe space.
Looking back at her highlights from the tournament, Seshoene said: “The first game we played in Benoni when we sang the National Anthem for the first time. It meant so much to me to be able to stand there wearing the Proteas colours and clothing. Another one was being able to give the girls as much online coverage as possible.”
gsport Writer Tlamelo Kganakga, reported on her first cricket World Cup tournament.
“We started 2023 on a high note. My first Cricket World Cup was amazing. Although I was nervous it is all part of the experience.”
Speaking on the atmosphere of the crowd, Kganakga added: “Everyone was so heavily invested in the games and hearing them calling and cheering the girls on was incredible. There were some intense moments but overall I believe we all had fun at the tournamanent.”
Grassroots development is something very close to Kganakga’s heart and is the very foundation of how she got into the media industry, uncovering new talent.
“I started writing about people who are unknown from my hometown in the North West. The only way we find new talent is going to places and uncovering new talent in places that don’t get the recognition and attention they deserve.”
To wrap up the conversation Kganakga revealed some of the lessons she learnt during the World Cup: “Nerves are good. You always want to do a good job and put your best foot forward. I get to look back on the work I did and hopefully do better at the next World Cup I cover. Thank you to Valencia for always making sure I had everything I needed, whether it was an interview with the coach or the player, she was always ready to help.”
Click here to listen to the full gsport Twitter Space Thursday conversation!
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