In industries where power is still too often coded as male, loud and unyielding, Keke Mokoena moves differently. Strategically, quietly and decisively.

She doesn’t chase the spotlight; she builds it, negotiates it, and then places others firmly inside it.

Born and raised in Bloemfontein in the Free State, Keke Mokoena comes from an undeniable football lineage. She is the only daughter of the late Mike Mokoena, the iconic owner of Bloemfontein Celtic Football Club, a man whose name is etched into South African football history. For Keke, sport was never a distant dream or a passing interest. It was home. It was language. It was legacy.

But rather than simply inheriting influence, she earned her own.

After graduating with a law degree from the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN), Keke began carving a path that would span continents and industries. Early in her career, she co-founded The Music Imbizo, an annual music conference in Durban that quickly became a critical meeting point for artists, executives and creatives across Africa and beyond.

At a time when African voices were often sidelined in global music conversations, her work created a platform for knowledge exchange, deal-making and visibility, on African terms. It was pioneering, intentional and deeply impactful.

With this foundation established, Keke went on to work in the United States, entering the global entertainment industry at a high level. She worked at Warner Music USA, gaining firsthand experience in one of the world’s most competitive creative ecosystems. There, she sharpened her expertise in global brand building, artist positioning, contract negotiation and reputation management skills that would later define her career.

During her time in the U.S., she also worked with and around internationally acclaimed creatives, further expanding her understanding of talent management at the highest level. The exposure cemented her global fluency while reinforcing the value of discretion, strategy and long-term thinking.

She attended and contributed to major festivals and conferences around the world, absorbing global best practice while remaining deeply rooted in the African context. This duality – global perspective with local grounding, continues to define her work.

Today, based in Johannesburg, Keke Mokoena operates at the powerful intersection of sport, entertainment and business. She is a respected football agent, and marketer and, above all, a formidable deal-maker with a sharp legal mind.

With her legal background, she understands contracts not merely as paperwork, but as power structures. She negotiates with clarity, foresight and rare emotional intelligence – protecting her clients’ long-term interests while positioning them for sustainable success.

She continues to work with respected international football players, coaches and agents, quietly shaping careers that dominate headlines while she remains deliberately behind them. In an era obsessed with visibility, Keke understands the luxury and the strength of discretion.

A Woman in a Man’s World

The sports industry is not an easy terrain for women – particularly Black women. By her own admission, Keke has had to fight ten times harder to be heard. She has had to be in rooms where she was underestimated. Handle deals where her authority was questioned. Be in spaces where her presence alone disrupted expectation.

And yet, she persists.

She rises above resistance with preparation and results. She does not mimic masculinity to survive; she redefines leadership through competence, composure and consistency. 

Behind many great stars are people who never make the highlight reels. Keke Mokoena is one of those people. The architect. The strategist. The closer.

Beyond titles and accolades, Keke is a mother of two boys, a role she carries with the same intentionality she brings to her career. Motherhood has not softened her ambition; it has sharpened it. It has deepened her understanding of legacy, time and purpose.

Her life is a masterclass in multiplicity: woman, mother, executive, negotiator, daughter of football royalty – and a force entirely her own.

Following in her father’s footsteps was never about replication. It was about evolution. Where Mike Mokoena built a football club that became a cultural institution, Keke builds people, brands and careers that move globally.

She represents a new archetype of African power: strategic, educated, globally connected and unapologetically present – whether or not permission is granted.Keke Mokoena is not just part of the industry.
She is shaping its future, one deal, one athlete, one legacy at a time.