Why some African fans are rooting against South Africa — and what is behind it

When Bafana Bafana lost their World Cup opener, much of the continent cheered for Mexico. Behind the unusual sight is a serious story about xenophobia, migration and a fractured African solidarity.

When South Africa lost their World Cup opener to Mexico, a strange thing happened across much of the continent: African fans cheered for the other side. It was not indifference to African football. It was a protest — anger at a wave of xenophobic violence inside South Africa's borders, spilling onto the world's biggest sporting stage.

The animosity has deep roots. South Africa has seen intermittent xenophobic violence since 2008, often targeting migrants from Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Malawi, Nigeria and Ghana. In recent years it has been driven by anti-immigrant movements such as Operation Dudula — "force out" in Zulu — and newer groups like March and March, which organise marches and raids and demand that foreign nationals prove their right to be in the country.

The latest wave was the most serious in years. Human Rights Watch documented attacks across Pretoria, Johannesburg and Durban in April and May 2026, just weeks before the World Cup, in which at least two Nigerian men died — one of them, the group said, beaten by soldiers, as Human Rights Watch reported. The African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights condemned the violence.

Analysts trace the anger to South Africa's economic crisis. With unemployment above 43 per cent and some of the deepest inequality on earth, migrants have become scapegoats for joblessness, crime and failing public services — a charge that researchers say the evidence does not support, as Al Jazeera has explained.

The fallout has been continental. Kenya, Nigeria, Ghana, Zimbabwe, Malawi and Lesotho all issued warnings to citizens living in South Africa. Ghana raised the prospect of legal action in international courts, and Nigeria — which once championed the anti-apartheid struggle — began repatriating nationals, accusing Pretoria of failing to forcefully denounce the violence.

Football became the outlet. As Bafana Bafana returned to the World Cup, supporters across West, East and Southern Africa openly backed their opponents, some changing their social-media pictures to Mexican flags. It echoed the hostile, often half-empty stadiums South Africa has faced at recent Africa Cup of Nations tournaments, as African football writers have noted.

South Africa's leaders have tried to lower the temperature. President Cyril Ramaphosa said his government would act against the groups behind the violence — a pledge that landed only days before kick-off and was met with scepticism abroad — and separately urged South Africans to unite behind their team with a "one team, one nation" message echoing the 1995 Rugby World Cup, reported The Citizen.

It is an uncomfortable moment for African football. The World Cup is meant to be the continent's shared stage, a rare chance to rally behind one of its own. Instead, for many fans — including here in Kenya, whose own government warned its citizens — it has become a mirror for tensions that football cannot fix. The players in green and gold did not start this fight. But until the violence stops, their tournament will be played in its shadow.