Moonira Ramathula as she appeared on Thaakir Dawood’s show Photo Screenshot
Johannesburg – The boundaries of sports tourism continue to be pushed by women, as one of our own has been inducted into the Amazon Of Sports Tourism Hall Of Fame. What started out as a hobby has blossomed into so much more.
Moonira Ramathula, Founder & Chairperson of Futballing Girls NPO, has been honoured many times in the sporting industry. This is one of the few times she has been honoured in the business industry. Although Futballing Girls is a passion for her, she has taken it to a new level and created a meaningful business.
What is sports tourism and how did Ramathula get involved in it?
When the FIFA World Cup came to our shores in 2010, Ramathula was a part of the company awarded the tender to transport the teams around the country. This was when she first got to experience what sports tourism is. From the onset she was hooked, and decided to make something out of this newfound passion.
“If you have a team that’s travelling out to Cape Town, understand that yes, they go to Cape Town but they’re not sleeping on the street. They’re sleeping in a hotel. The hotels form part of the tourism industry. They contribute to tourism in Cape Town. They contribute to tourism wherever they go. They’re going to go to restaurants.”
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The struggles of sports tourism
Taking teams from one country to another isn’t as easy as it sounds. Preparations have to be made well in advance. One of the first things that Ramathula learnt was that teams need to be in a country within a certain time, before they are scheduled to perform. Her background in sports helped her to understand things faster and adapt.
“It is a lot of pressure. There’s really a lot that goes into it and if you really don’t understand the athletes as such, you don’t really understand the sporting industry as such. Then it does create a bit of a problem. When I look for hotel accommodation, I need to make sure that there’s a training ground. What is it that needs to be done? Is there going to be media briefings and media interviews before that and who needs to be there first in that event.”
One of the stressful tasks is breaking up the team into smaller groups if they can’t travel together. She then needs to find out who are the crucial players and need to be on the ground first.
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The future of the brand and Ramathula
It has been a tough year for Ramathula as it has been for many. With the threat of Covid-19 seemingly reduced, Ramathula intends to continue their youth programs and events.
“Later this year I hope to find myself in New Zealand because I will be presenting two topics at the International Working Group conference. Futballing Girls programs will continue as per normal. We have our awards. We have the women’s brunch coming up in August on Women’s Day. We’re still continuing with the children’s literacy program. We’re going to host a few festivals now for Youth month.”
Besides being inducted into the tourism hall of fame, Ramathula has also earned her diploma in digital marketing. With the knowledge she has gained, she has created a personal branding course focused on the workings of social media and how to build a brand. For now, her focus is onward and upward.
