Apart from Afrobeats, football has a way of bringing Africans together. It can also expose continental tensions that go far beyond the pitch. However, South African activist and media personality, Jacinta Ngobese-Zuma does not care.
The 2026 FIFA World Cup started on June 11 with an opening match between South Africa and Mexico. Across social media, many football fans from other African countries have openly supported Mexico instead of South Africa. In some cases, users have even celebrated South African defeats and mocked the country’s supporters online.
The reactions by other Africans are the reverse of what usually happens; Africans are known to always stand in solidarity with one another in tournaments like this. 
It is different this time. The reactions appear to be tied to growing frustrations over immigration debates in South Africa, where discussions about jobs, public services, and undocumented migration have become increasingly heated in recent years.
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Jacinta Zuma’s Comment on the World Cup Support
Jacinta Ngobese-Zuma Responded to comments from people who have chosen not to support South Africa at the World Cup, she delivered a message on social media.
According to Ngobese-Zuma, South Africans should not be concerned about those choosing to support other teams.
“Those countries that have come out to say that they don’t support South Africa, they hate us, they want to see us fail,” she said.
She went on to argue that South Africans should actually encourage the critics to support other nations instead.
“We, in fact, are begging you to support other teams,” she said.
Ngobese-Zuma then linked football support to broader immigration debates. She claimed that if people supported South Africa’s team today, they might later use that support as a reason to demand special treatment or justify migration into South Africa.
She suggested that some supporters could eventually argue that they deserve special consideration because they supported South Africa during the tournament. According to her, they might later demand easier access to jobs, housing, schools, hospitals, and other public services in the country.
Jacinta Zuma’s World Cup comments follow the ongoing evacuation of other Africans from South Africa due to xenophobic attacks over the past few months.
There are also videos making the rounds on social media where some South African workers back home argue that foreign employees are highly skilled and play a vital role in keeping factories running. Some have said that removing them has led to factory closures, job losses, and greater hardship for many families.
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