Mpho Maboi loves the Beautiful Game, and the Beautiful Game loves her back. As an anchor for SABC Sport, her passion for football shines through, and her knowledge of the finer points has earned her a reputation as a trusted and insightful commentator.
But first and foremost, she insists, she is a mother, bringing up a three-year-old son who is the centre of her universe. Naturally, he too is obsessive about football, just like his dad, Kaizer Chiefs and Bafana midfielder, Reneilwe “Yeye” Letsholonyane.
“Adults don’t create children,” says Mpho, reflecting on how parenthood has changed her life. “Children create adults.”
Bubbly and vivacious, Mpho switched careers from IT to broadcasting, when DJ Fresh, impressed with her voiceover on, of all things, an ad for condoms, invited her to join his show as a stand-in traffic reporter.
She’s travelled a long way since then, to become on of the best-known faces and voices in South African media.
She sat down with Ruda to chat about the joys of change, her on-again-off-again relationship with Yeye, and her confession that as much as she loves people, she’s not sure she likes them, preferring to retreat from the glare of the spotlight and take it easy in her own personal space.
Transcript
R: Hello, and welcome, once more, to the Change Exchange, where our guest … this time ’round … Mpho Maboi. I’m so glad to have you!
M: Thank you for having me.
R: You studied IT? And worked in IT?
M: That is a very weird one, because growing up I had ambitions of being a doctor, and then when I started high school I wanted to be a chartered accountant, and then somewhere along the line I discovered information technology. I studied that, went to the now University of Johannesburg, which was Wits Tech at the time, studied my national diploma in IT, worked for IBM, First Technologies, Bytes Technology Group … So ja … I’m a bit of a nerd.
R: And then, how did the nerd get on radio?
M: Well, the nerd started doing voice overs for YFM, and while doing the voice overs …
R: But how did that happen? Because that’s the first step?
M: In all honesty, I can’t really tell you how that happened! I really, for the life of me, cannot remember how I got to doing voice overs for YFM. I know I used to have a friend who was a producer on YFM – I think that’s how I ended up doing it. But eventually I did an ad for Choice condoms, and the male partner happened to be DJ Fresh, and DJ Fresh said: ‘You know, I like your voice. I might need a stand-in traffic person on my breakfast show.’ So one day I happened to sit in on the show and eventually I became a part of the show and at some or other point ended up quitting my IT career because I just couldn’t juggle the two anymore. And that’s literally how I got into radio.
R: And did radio feel natural?
M: I took to it like a duck to water. It felt natural, it felt like something I have been doing all my life. And it just felt good – I was happy after doing that. And at the time I think it came at the right time, because I started feeling a bit unhappy in my IT job.
R: A bit bored?
M: A bit bored. Like, I needed some form of change. I needed something new. And ja, when radio came through, it was just at the perfect moment.
R: Such a complete change, though.
M: I know! It’s like chalk and cheese.
R: And then television? How did that happen?
M: Television came about because of me being on radio. At some point … I’ve always loved talking about sport. So I would always talk about sport on my radio show and eventually Bridget Masinga said: ‘Listen, I heard SuperSport is actually looking for a woman presenter.’ And I was like: ‘Hmmmm. Let me think about it.’ I thought about it, and decided to make that call. I went for a screen test – they liked me. And I ended up doing both radio and TV at the same time.
R: How difficult was it to pick up the phone? For you to take the initiative?
M: It was quite hard, because as much as change is a constant in everyone’s life … But embracing it is very hard. And you have to deal with the fear, because I had that fear that ‘what if I pick up the phone and they say I’m not what they’re looking for’. You know?
R: ‘Who told you we were looking for anything?’
M: Exactly! So I had that fear, and I had to get over that fear and decide: ‘You know what, the worst they can say is no.’
R: They always say about an audition, the only thing you can lose is something you haven’t got.
M: True. That is very, very true. And that’s literally what I had to deal with, to say the worst they can say is no, or I might go in and they might not like me. But at least I tried. So ja, it wasn’t easy, but eventually you have to fight your demons.
R: And sitting down in front of the camera? What was that like?
M: That was not very easy. I thought it would be easy, but I think from a radio background you sort of have to condition yourself, and say: ‘I can’t now be fidgeting, for instance, while talking, because now people are watching me.’ Because as you can see I talk with my hand a lot. So you’re conscious of little quirks that you have, and it’s a mental thing. But eventually you get into it and you sort of understand that okay, now we’re dealing with people that can see us. It’s not just about the voice. It’s about the people that can see you. But also now you have to deal with your knowledge of the sport – it’s always easy when you’re just talking from a passion point of view. But when you’re talking from an expert point of view, you’re supposed to know. You can’t just say you think it happened. You have to know it happened then and that this is how it happened. So that was a mental adjustment as well. Not an easy one, but you sort of get into it.
R: So you actually consciously sit down and study the different themes and the history of this club and that club?
M: It’s not necessarily sitting down and studying, but you’re now developing an interest in – for one – reading Sunday papers, and reading daily newspapers, and talking to people in the industry as well. I mean, there’s people who have been doing this for eons, so you put your ego aside and go talk to that person and say: ‘Listen, Ruda, I’m new to this. You’ve been doing it for many, many years. What are the tricks of the trade? What do I need to be conscious of doing? What do I need to avoid doing?’ But obviously we all have our own crutches, but it’s literally like I say, putting your ego aside and wanting to do better at every stage.
R: How did the audience respond to a woman commentating on the beautiful game?
M: Fortunately, we’ve had women in the game. We’ve had the likes of your Cynthia Chaka, the likes of Carol Manana – who is huge, especially in football. I mean, she’s well-known even internationally, having worked so closely with Fifa. But you still had a lot of men. I mean, at the end of the day you can’t avoid the fact that we are such a patriarchal society. So you do still have those men who think: ‘What are you doing there? What do you know? You’re just a girl. You can’t tell me you know more about my team than I do.’ So at the end of the day you sort of sit back and say … ‘You know, this is what I want to do. If you like me: Great. If you don’t like me: That’s fine. I’m not really here to try and change your opinion of me. I’m here to do my job, and if you like it: You like it. If you don’t like it: It’s okay.’ At the end of the day I’m not money – not everyone will like you.
R: Ja, you have to stop thinking about what people are thinking about you and just focus on …
M: You know, the funniest thing about the brain … You can have ten people tell you you’re brilliant. And if that one person tells you you are terrible, your brain focuses in on the one person. It’s almost like you forget that ten people have said ‘you inspire me’. That one person who said: ‘God, I hate you. I hate your voice. I think you’re terrible.’ That’s the one you’re like …
R: And how could you have said XYZ.
M: Yes. You know, you sit and like … ‘Ja, maybe I shouldn’t have said that.’ You lie awake at night, which is quite sad that the brain focuses in on the negative. But eventually over time you just learn to filter the negative. Because if you concentrate so much on the negative you honestly will never get anywhere.
R: Like watching your feet and trying to ride a bicycle. You will fall over. You say you’ve reached out to people, tried to learn … What were some of the things … The best things that you learned?
M: Looking at Robert Marawa, who is one of the greats when it comes to sport in the country … I mean, that man literally knows … You ask him about golf, he knows. You ask him about tennis, he knows. He basically said to me: ‘Listen, you’re only as good as your last broadcast.’ And having said that to me, it’s always made me want to do every broadcast as though it was my last broadcast. So you go in there – you prep. He always says: ‘Listen, I might come across like I know everything, but when you are sleeping at two o’clock in the morning, I’m preparing for tomorrow.’ So preparation is everything, because they do say failure to prep is preparing for failure. So you always have to go in there fully prepared, and over prepared. Because also dealing with live games – that any time the broadcast might cut, and they have to come to you and you have to fill in the blanks. So if you’ve under prepared, then you don’t have anything to talk about! So you always have to come in and literally just try and better whatever broadcast you’ve done.
R: That’s being professional, hey?
M: That’s being very professional. But obviously, at times you have those moments where you think: ‘Ah, it’s the Soweto Derby – everyone knows the Soweto Derby. I can come in there and just waffle on. But after five minutes of being on air you’re like: ‘I really should have prepared.’ So you will always be caught off guard.
R: You also like doing MC work?
M: I love doing MC work! I love people. It’s the weirdest thing. I’m going to confess something that every time I say, people think I’m weird: I love people, but I don’t like people. I like being in front of people and entertaining people, but I’m a very reserved person who prefers to be in my own little space. But when I’m MCing I feel like that’s my moment with people on a one on one basis, because when you’re on radio and TV people don’t really interact with you. So when you’re MCing at least you get to see immediate feedback, which is nice. But I guess in my own personal space I just like … [gestures and laughs]
R: And what makes a good MC? What makes the difference?
M: I think a good MC is someone who is in tune with the audience. But also, you need to be aware of your audience. It’s not every environment where you can go in and scream and jump and shout. There’s certain audiences where you have to be … A lady. And then there are those moments where you can be a rascal and run around on stage and … so you have to know who your audience is. And that’s what makes you a good MC. When you can actually interchange between the different personalities, then yeah, the world is your oyster.
R: Which also goes back to preparation.
M: Yes, definitely.
R: You don’t just get your script and go stand there and read it.
M: Exactly. ‘Cause like, if you were MCing a gala event and you rock up in jeans, you have a problem.
R: What do you want to do next? Are you a person who plans ahead or do you see an open door and …
M: I do plan ahead, but not too much. Because someone once told me a long time ago that if you want to tell God a joke, tell him you have plans for your life. So I do plan, obviously, because it is a career and you try and have longevity in it. But at the same time, you can’t over plan to a point where when certain doors open, you can’t see them because it’s not part of your plan. So yeah, you plan, but you also just let life happen.
R: And is there a dream where you want to end up?
M: The dream is … there’s two dreams. At the moment being on Metro FM … I know, Robert Marawa is going to hate me. But I’d love to do Robert Marawa’s show – I really would. It’s … I feel like for me it will be one of the greatest achievements, because it’s always been done by a man, and I’d love to be the first woman to actually take it over and show that women can do this. We also are forces to be reckoned with in sport. So that’s the one, and the second one … I’d love to see myself on ESPN. I think it will be great to actually be on that platform.
R: Okay, se we’ll be watching.
M: Big plans!
R: So how did you and Reneilwe … Reneilwe Letsholonyane …
M: That’s a very tricky name!
R: That was right, wasn’t it?
M: That was proper, actually.
R: How did you get together? It’s been twice, nê?
M: Yeah.
R: But the first time?
M: The first time round we actually met at a friend of mine’s house. He had been pursuing me for a while, but through my friends he was never direct at me. So I always ignored him because I thought: ‘If you have the courage to be man enough, you let me know!’ So he always told my friends that he likes me and he wants to hook up with me and I thought: ‘Ag, forget you.’ So eventually he sort of cornered me at a friend’s birthday party. He found out I was going to be there, and he rocked up and I avoided him the entire night because I knew exactly why he was there, and eventually when I was leaving I tried to quietly slip out, and my friend told him I was leaving, so he decided to walk me to my car. And it was quite a distance away, ’cause you know being a party, obviously, there’s lots of cars so you end up parking far away. So he walked me to the car and I got to chat to him and I got to see a different side to what I thought he was. And I kind of liked that. We exchanged numbers and we got talking.
R: Did you have a … something … what did you think of soccer players as such?
M: I was very weary of soccer players. They do have quite a reputation. Soccer players, rugby players, cricket players, actors, anybody in the entertainment space, they have quite a reputation because … you know, they’re easily accessible to women.
R: And vice versa.
M: Exactly. So I thought: ‘I don’t want to really be with a soccer player.’ And already I’m in this space where I’m broadcasting, so you also don’t want to have an attachment to anyone in that space, because, being a woman, such things stick with you, versus with a man … You know? Sadly. So I was very weary of that, but fortunately he managed to actually change my mind, and he said: ‘Listen, I know we all have that reputation, but I think it’s unfair of you to just put a blanket over everyone and think we’re all the same. Give me a chance, and we’ll see what happens.’ So ja, he sort of changed my mind, actually.
R: And how did you deal with having to host a program and he was playing?
M: I’ve always avoided doing games that he was part of, which worked perfectly for me. I’ve been fortunate enough to do very few games where Kaizer Chiefs was playing. And I think that was also the universe listening to me and saying: ‘Please don’t put me in this awkward situation.’ So fortunately I haven’t had too many spaces or opportunities of working in the same space as him. But when we have worked together, we’re very professional. When he’s got his team colours on, he’s a player. When I’ve got my suit on and I’m mic’d up, I’m a presenter. At that time you are not even Reneilwe Letsholonyane – you are Yeye, which is his football name. So when I mentally – I’ve always known how to separate the two. And fortunately with him as well. He separates the two, so if I ever have to interview him, he’s not talking to the woman in his life. He’s talking to a broadcaster. And it works.
R: I suppose that’s the only way.
M: It is the only way.
R: You broke up and then you got back together again – and I read an interview with you where you say you now know what it takes?
M: Yes. I must say – the breakup was a bit hard, because we broke up while I was pregnant with our son at the time. But it had to happen. I think we had gone to a point where we were toxic to each other, where you are both unhappy, but you’re trying to make things work because there is a child who is about to come into the world. But eventually I had to make that decision, that: ‘Listen, this is just not working. I think we will make better parents for this person if we are apart. So we separated, but even though it was never really a breakup in terms of I no longer love you and I don’t want to be with you any more, it was just: ‘Let’s separate for the betterment of this human being, who we’ve decided to bring into this world.’ But the second time around, everything was conscious. You sit down and you say: ‘Okay, fine. Before we can even decide that we want to get back together, let’s first sit down and talk about our issues that we had. The elephant in the room, so to speak. We have to deal with that elephant, because otherwise if we’re not dealing with the elephant in the room, and we decide to continue with this, we’re going to have the same problems. We’re going to deal with the same issues. So let’s deal with everything first and see if this is worth giving it a second try. If we can’t deal with those issues, then at least we know, that this is just not meant to be.’ So fortunately we managed to deal with everything, and I must say our relationship has actually been better the second time around, because I think, also with him, he had his own demons to deal with and eventually he decided to give his life to God and become a different person. And he’s become a lot calmer as well. So it’s a lot easier to deal with him now and I think also being a mother, being a parent sort of calms you down and it grounds you. So I also had a change in personality and a sense of maturity, so now we came together from a mature perspective as well and we also learned to put our egos aside. Because I think also the first time around our egos played a role.
R: Two big stars …
M: You know what I mean. We’ve learned that this is not about who you are out there. Whoever you are out there is a non-issue here. And I also had to learn the same thing, and it’s been …
R: It really sounds like growing up.
M: It is growing up. And that was the biggest thing. That break helped us grow up …
R: Which is not easy.
M: It’s not. It’s not at all. It is very hard, but like I say, when you’re conscious about certain things, it helps.
R: And you know, they say that adults don’t create children, children create adults. That sounds like this was absolutely the case with you?
M: Definitely. I always say that my son brought a sense of – not only growth, but maturity in me. For one, I have always been very selfish. My life was … Everything revolved around me in a very selfish way. But when he came around, everything was no longer about just me. There was always this other human being that you have to take care of. And that, in essence, opens you up to other people as well. It’s easy to give and receive from other people when you realise that there’s a lot more that … Life is bigger than you in a way. So it’s a lot easier that way.
R: And what kind of mom are you? He’s three now?
M: Yes, he is three. I’m quite the disciplinarian, which is weird. I am. I think it comes from me being a Virgo – I’m quite the perfectionist, quite a control freak, things have to happen a certain way, although now I have learned that listen, if you want to …
R: Babies don’t have to listen!
M: They don’t stick to your schedule, they don’t stick to your plans – they couldn’t care less about your plans. So I’ve learned to sort of let go a bit when it comes to the control factor. But ja, I’m quite the disciplinarian and I think I take that a lot from my dad, because he’s quite a staunch disciplinarian.
R: Were you close to him?
M: I am close to my dad. I’ve always been the apple of my father’s eye, so I’ve learnt that trait from him and … which is the complete opposite … because I think … he not necessarily lets the kids do what they want, but he sort of lets them learn from their own mistakes, whereas I sort of say: ‘Don’t touch that light, it’s going to burn you.’ He says: ‘No, let it burn him – he’ll learn.’ So we’re different on that level.
R: You know, I think it’s hard for a mother to do that.
M: Very hard! It is really hard. And he always says he’ll learn.
R: And your home, Mpho? Where are you? How long have you been there?
M: I bought my home about a year ago now. It’s about a year ago. It’s still new. I always tell Yeye, it’s so funny, a year ago I would call and say: ‘Listen, the taps are not working.’ And then somebody would come in and fix everything. Now, when the taps are not working, it’s your problem.
R: Ownership.
M: And ja, like for one now I’m dealing with my garden. It’s summer, I try to get my grass to be green and I’m struggling.
R: And we’re not getting the rain.
M: And we’re not getting the rain, which is not helping.
R: My mother once said to me you make dry … you farm … I only know the Afrikaans … Droeë land boerdery. You wait for the rain.
M: Yes, you have to wait, and you can’t do anything with it. It’s been quite interesting, being a home owner. It’s fun.
R: So now that you know? That is quite a choice – to go from renting to owning.
M: Yes, but I had to. I think also going back to my son – I think at some point I sat down and I thought: ‘Hmmm, I can’t keep renting. Eventually when I die, this person has to have a home. You know what I mean? So I thought, okay. Let me buy a house, and then eventually once I paid it off I’ll put it in his name.’ And that was the biggest motivator for it, because every parent … There’s no parent who wants their kid to struggle. So I thought if there’s one gift I would want to give for him, it would be a home. What he does with it when I’m gone – that’s a whole other story.
R: And how did you choose it? What swayed you?
M: I just love the complex that my home is in. There’s only 40 units in the complex, it’s got a playground within the complex, and everyone … there’s a sense of neighbourliness, community. And that’s what I loved about it. So when he says: ‘Mommy, I’m going out to play with the other kids.’ I don’t panic. And that’s what I love about it, because now he’s at that independent stage where he wants to go play with his friends, and I just wanted that for him.
R: What are your dreams for him?
M: That’s a tough one. I actually, because I try so hard not to really plan his life or have aspirations or try and shape him, because I always think: ‘You know what, he will be what he wants to be.’ And my only role in his life is to assist him whichever direction he wants to go. So for now I just want him to be happy in whatever he chooses – if one day he wants to be an actor – great. The one thing I’ve always said that I wouldn’t want him to be is a football player. But the saddest thing is that he obsesses with football.
R: Well, he lives in a football house.
M: I know! And it breaks my heart, but I’ve got no option. If he ends up being a footballer then I’ll have to support that dream. But yeah, it will break my heart, but if that’s what he does, then that’s what he does.
R: Good luck! And I hope we see you on ESPN soon.
M: Oh, definitely. Definitely! That’s one dream I cannot wait for.
R: Thank you so much for the visit.
M: Thank you so much for having me – it was fun.
R: It was. Until next time – bye bye.
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