LEBO BECAME ONE OF THE
BEST SPORTS ANCHORS
WITHOUT A MENTOR
Metro FM sports presenter took it upon herself to create
her own lane.
Written by: Machaba Matsapola
W
hen asked who are some
of the sports broadcasters
she looks up to, Lebo
Motsoeli’s unorthodox response
shows that she is far from average.
“I don’t look up to anyone and nev-
er had a mentor; when we started,
there was only a few of us,” she
says about female sports anchors.
“I never wanted to be like anyone.”
Currently a sports anchor and pre-
senter on both TV and radio, Lebo’s
career started on television and she
only made her way to radio in 2009.
The 35-year-old from Kroonstad
talks to Frequency Magazine about
where it all started. “For me radio
started when I was standing in for
Romy Titus on Radio 2000’s break-
fast show with Justice Ramohlola;
Romy was away and asked me to fill
in for her and they really liked me
there,” she shares. “I was doing TV
before and had no radio training
whatsoever.”
She was then asked to become part
of Radio 2000 and proved to be a
formidable sports broadcaster both
on TV and radio. Even though, she
was used to the TV cameras, Lebo
managed to make a smooth transi-
tion to radio and had all the require-
ments of a great sports presenter.
“The difference between TV and
radio is that when you’re on radio,
nobody sees you, so it’s about the
delivery, being audible and if you’re
passionate about what you’re talk-
ing about,” she states. “TV on the
other hand is everything involved,
your body posture, hair etc.”
From a young age, Lebo has always
been passionate about sports. “I’ve
played sports all my life and re-
cently just left it; I have played club
and provincial hockey and as I was
to represent the national team my
work as a broadcaster took prec-
edence,” she shares. “I’ve always
been a sports lover and I still think
I’ll have South African colours in
something, whether it’s squash or
something else in my old age, I still
want to wear my green and gold in
whatever sporting code.”
She mentions Caster Semenya,
Amanda Dlamini, Penny Haines
and Serena Williams as some of
the people she admires. Now with
Metro FM since April 2018, Lebo
is easily settling in and letting the
higher power take control of her
destiny. “I’ve been doing radio for
nine years and always allow God
to put me wherever he wants me to
be,” she concludes.
Catch Lebo Motsoeli on Lunch with
Thomas & Pearl on Metro FM every
weekday from 12h00-15h00 pm.
Stay tuned.
OCTOBER | NOVEMBER
2018 ISSUE
25