African fans rallied behind Mexico in World Cup opener over xenophobia anger

Africans Rally Behind Mexico Against South Africa in World Cup Opener

As the 2026 FIFA World Cup kicked off Thursday at Mexico City’s Estadio Azteca, a campaign spreading across African social media urged football fans on the continent to support Mexico over South Africa — turning the opening match into a proxy protest against xenophobic violence targeting African migrants in South Africa.

Anti-Xenophobia Sentiment Fuels the Movement

The online campaign gained traction in the days before the match, with posts from Nigeria, Ghana, Malawi, and elsewhere calling on Africans to back Mexico’s El Tri rather than fellow African nation Bafana Bafana. The movement drew a direct line between the sporting event and a wave of anti-migrant violence that has swept South African cities in recent months.facebook

Human Rights Watch reported in May 2026 that vigilantes had carried out violent xenophobic attacks targeting African and Asian foreign nationals, with a citizen-led movement called “March and March” organizing demonstrations against undocumented migrants in Pretoria, Johannesburg, and Durban — with sometimes fatal results. Al Jazeera documented rising harassment, job losses, and community violence against migrants, particularly Zimbabweans. In late May, Ghana began repatriating hundreds of its citizens from South Africa on special flights as conditions deteriorated.hrw

Prominent Voices Join the Call

In Nigeria, Dr. Ibenaku Onoh — a former member of the Enugu State House of Assembly and current Executive Chairman of Enugu North Local Government Area — publicly urged Africans to back Mexico in the opener as a symbolic act of solidarity with displaced migrants, according to Nigeria’s Vanguard newspaper. Posts from Nigerian, Ghanaian, and Malawian accounts echoed his message, framing support for Mexico as a rebuke of South Africa’s treatment of fellow Africans.vanguardngr

The South African government, for its part, called on citizens to unite behind Bafana Bafana. President Cyril Ramaphosa had addressed the xenophobia crisis in a national address on June 7, unveiling a crackdown on illegal immigration while insisting there was “no space for xenophobia” in South Africa.bbc

Mexico Wins as Tensions Linger

On the pitch, Mexico defeated South Africa 2-0 in a match marred by three red cards — two for South Africa and one for Mexico — the most ever in a World Cup opening match, according to ESPN. The result delivered the outcome many African fans online had hoped for, though the underlying grievances over South Africa’s treatment of continental neighbors remain far from resolved.espn