Palesa Mashigo is currently working as a PhD researcher and lecturer at Erasmus University's Media and Communication Department. Her doctoral research investigates race, racism, and inclusion within professional European football, as part of a collaborative project with Erasmus University, FARE Network, FIFPRO, and UEFA. This research bridges empirical analysis with institutional and policy concerns, asking critical questions about how racism manifests in the experiences of stakeholders such as football leaders, professional players, and amateurs, and examining what it is about football culture that enables exclusionary practices to persist.

Palesa holds a Master’s degree in Media, Culture and Society from Erasmus University, where her thesis explored racial representation in connection to Black hair and the experiences of Black women in Dutch urban contexts. She received her Bachelor in Journalism (BJourn) from Rhodes University in South Africa, specializing in television broadcasting. Her academic interests lie at the intersection of sport, popular culture, and media representation, with a strong focus on how institutional inequalities are embedded in and reproduced through cultural systems.