Weekend Argus (Saturday Edition)
F IELD W ORK
She’s moved from print to TV but SuperSport presenter Julia is most at home talking about her love for the game, writes
SUPERSPORT presenter Julia Stuart’s passion for football began at a young age. She remembers sitting with her father enjoying the game and then analysing every bit of detail thereafter.
It was because of those moments that Stuart found herself sitting next to some. of the country’s top sports commentators, like Robert Marawa, speaking about football.
“My passion for football came about when my mom went overseas during the school holidays and I had to stay back with my dad. He loved the sport and I would watch with him. It was that special thing we shared. And he supported my love for the game. He was the one person I could chat to about it.”
Stuart’s first TV job was at eNCA. She spent two years at the media broadcaster, before getting a chance to do what she truly loved – commentating on live football matches.
“Coming from a performing arts background made the switch from print media to TV easier. Working at eNCA was also helpful for learning presenting skills, but when I moved to live broadcast where there was no script and anything could happen at any time, it made things difficult again.”
Although not a stranger to
TV, Stuart says she never stops learning and she’s grateful for all the help she receives from her fellow presenters in a maledominated space.
“When people look at me, they think I’ve been in the industry for a long time, but I’ve only been at SuperSport for four years and I’m learning daily.
“What’s great is that I have industry leaders like Robert Marawa, whom I look up to. They don’t need to but they take the time out to help me.
“The sports industry is very much male-dominated, but we are fortunate that we are entering an age where we are seeing a lot more female experts in the field.
“There are always going to be people who say we’re here because of our looks, but actually we have to work twice as hard to be taken seriously. I’m grateful the production companies are seeing women in a new light.”
Apart from travelling the world and getting to rub shoulders with some of the sporting industry’s leading players, Stuart says one of the enjoyable things about her job is receiving heartfelt messages from appreciative fans.
“I receive a lot of messages saying ‘thank you for the show; you are an inspiration to my wife’; or ‘you inspired my girlfriend, now she watches the game with me’. It’s those little things that I really cherish about my job.”
With the Russia World Cup
2018, Stuart is confident her best is yet to come.
“I’m about to live the highlight of my career. I bought a diary last week just so that I can keep track of my thoughts.
“I can feel the excitement in the air. I get super excited for every game, because all the games mean so much to me. I feel blessed to have an opportunity to do what I truly love.”
During this time, Stuart will host two other sporting shows in addition to her show, Blitz Live, the second being a social media show, On The Ball, and the third, Fan Fest.
“Through these shows I want to reflect people’s passion for the game. During a World Cup everyone comes together. Even if they never watched a game in their life, they suddenly become experts. I hate it, but also love it, it’s just a great atmosphere.”
Talking about who her money is on for the trophy, Stuart says there are too many top contenders to choose.
“There are so many strong teams this year, it’s impossible to pick a winner. I have a feeling Brazil might win.
“But Germany, France and Argentina are also looking like strong competitors.”
While she had an incredible career to date, hosting some of South Africa’s most prestigious soccer tournaments as well as presenting from the Uefa Euro 2016, Stuart says there are big names in the soccer industry she’d love to interview before she retires one day.
“I would love to interview Arsene Wenger. I’ve met him but I want to get to the bottom of why he resigned. Other people on my list are Lionel Messi, Thierry Henry and Diego Armando Maradona Franco. There are a lot of interesting questions I need answers to.”
But it’s not all fun and games for Stuart who says that sometimes the social media backlash can be upsetting.
“Some people just won’t accept a woman presenting in a maledominated industry and so I do get bashed on social media.
“I have a bad temper, and sometimes when I see people tweeting mean things to me, I reply with a sarcastic comment, but often I take a screenshot of the picture, send it to my two best girlfriends and let them get angry at it for me,” she laughs.
When the SuperSport presenter’s not behind the camera, she’s a fun, outgoing personality who treasures all the precious moments in her life.
“I’m so bad at spoiling myself, like getting a massage or sleeping late, but when I do unwind it’s usually with a good sports book or watching football on TV.
“I also hang out with my friends. I recently built up a good network, so I try to associate with them. So we party, have braais or go out for dinner. The energy in Johannesburg is amazing – people are so spontaneous here.”
“What makes me ultimately happy is seeing my parents happy. Last year my mother went for a spine operation and that changed my life. We always take things for granted, but after that situation I started to focus on living my best life because life is too short. We aren’t guaranteed that we will be here for a certain amount of time.”
Stuart says she’s learnt to love experiences over material things.
Looking back at her life, she says never in a million years did she think she would be where she is today.
“If I were to go back in the past and tell myself that I’d be doing this now, I wouldn’t believe myself. It’s been and will continue to be such an amazing journey for me.”
Is starting a family anywhere on her radar?
“I always think that maybe I should have started a family at an early stage, but I believe that everything comes in time if it’s meant to come.
“My mom sent me a message saying that if Janet Jackson could have kids at 50, then there’s hope for me. We laughed about it. There is no pressure for me to start a family just yet.”
● Catch Julia Stuart on SuperSport where she hosts
Blitz Live and soon-to-air Fan Fest and On The Ball. For more information visit the SuperSport web page.