Nairobi (AFP) – In a Kenyan sports bar, several football fans cheered South Africa's opponents in their latest match at the World Cup -- reflecting a wave of anger at the country's recent xenophobic violence.
Issued on: 19/06/2026 - RFI
"Everything is political in football. We're against what South Africa is standing for," said Shahim, a 37-year-old Kenyan woman, clenching her fists in joy every time the South African team missed an opportunity against the Czech Republic on Thursday night.
"We want (South Africans) to react against what is happening in their country... But nothing happens," she added.
South Africa has been gripped for months by protests demanding the departure of undocumented immigrants.
The marches have never exceeded a few thousand people, but they have been accompanied by a torrent of xenophobic hatred online and received significant media attention.
That has flipped the usual script during the World Cup, when African nations traditionally support each other.
"We support all the other African teams. This is to teach them that there are consequences," said Shahim's friend, Fatma, a 34-year-old farmer.
"When you have a superiority complex, you suffer alone," she added.
South Africa says it has repatriated 2,745 foreigners following President Cyril Ramaphosa's promise to crack down on illegal immigration.
Ghana and Nigeria have repatriated several hundred of their citizens, and some 600 Mozambicans returned home after violence in the southern city of Mossel Bay that left at least two dead.
It has shocked many across the continent and turned football fans against the Bafana Bafana, as the South African team is known.
There was joy when the team lost to Mexico last week. A popular social media meme showed a map of the African continent covered with the Mexican flag, excluding South Africa.
"The whole continent seems to have become Afro-Mexican," quipped Wode Maya, a popular vlogger in Ghana, asking his fans to reply in Spanish.
Even a spokesperson for the Confederation of African Football, Ibrahim Sannie Daara, joined in, posting on X: "You cannot mistreat Africa and still expect Africa's full blessing on the world stage," though he later moderated his remarks and called on all Africans to wear the South African jersey.
'Unacceptable'
The atmosphere remained light-hearted in the Nairobi bar visited by AFP for the Czech Republic match -- which ended in a draw -- where a few South Africans were present.
Edwin, a 50-year-old Kenyan communications professional, said he was determined to support all African teams: "You can't judge a whole country because of a minority."
He recalled even harsher times in east Africa, when dictator Idi Amin Dada expelled tens of thousands of Ugandans of Indo-Pakistani origin in 1972.
But others were less forgiving.
"It is not because you don't have jobs that you can attack Africans," said Richie, a Tanzanian consultant visiting Nairobi, recalling his country's support for black South Africans during the apartheid era.
"Unless they change, we will do it over and over," he added.
The South African Football Association issued a statement on Wednesday denouncing the "online harassment and abusive messages" directed at its players, which it said was "unacceptable".
At a press conference on Thursday, Bafana Bafana captain Ronwen Williams admitted "it does hurt".
"You want to focus on doing your job, which is being a footballer, but then you get involved in politics and you don't want to get into that space," he said.
© 2026 AFP
The tape and the illegal ketchup: FIFA's sponsor protection rules
20.06.2026, dpa
Photo: Tom Weller/dpa
Austria coach Ralf Rangnick was highly amused by a small PR coup while Jamal Musiala will probably have to carry a roll of tape with him for the next few weeks.
The Germany star’s headphones are not made by a World Cup sponsor which means that he had to cover the clearly visible logo with tape in official tournament areas.
The zeal with which world governing body FIFA protects the exclusivity of its sponsors at the World Cup is causing more than just surprise. It is also prompting companies that are not among the official sponsors to come up with clever ideas.
What the sponsors pay
Being an official FIFA or World Cup sponsor is not cheap.
Florian Pfeffel, professor for sports management at the university of applied sciences in Bad Homburg, says that official FIFA partners pay $50-100 million per years and World Cup sponsors $20-30 million. There are also regional sponsors that only appear in certain areas.
To protect exclusivity, there is strict trademark protection for terms such as “World Cup 2026,” as well as logos, mascots, and even the World Cup trophy.
Around the stadiums and at official fanfests, no competing products from non-sponsors may be sold. Stadiums have also been renamed in a neutral way for the World Cup.
“FIFA follows a clean-site principle, under which stadiums must ensure that the venue and surrounding grounds are free from potentially competing third-party naming rights,” economist Markus Voeth from Hohenheim university says.
Please cover it up: Musiala’s headphones and ketchup containers
FIFA was not particularly lenient when it came to Musiala’s headphones.
“You naturally think: that’s terribly petty. And it is,” says Pfeffel. “On the other hand, you also have to understand the rights holders and FIFA. These partners pay substantial sums for these rights, and FIFA must ensure that there are no free riders who benefit from the reach without paying for those rights.”
Tape apparently ranks among FIFA’s most important tools when it comes to sponsor protection.
In Foxborough, the naming sponsor has its logo on every single seat, which means that tape was needed for more than 60,000 seats. In Santa Clara, the manufacturers’ names on ketchup and mayonnaise containers were covered with black tape.
For advertising executive Robert Zitzmann, managing director of Jung von Matt Sports, such action is counterproductive: “It’s an invitation to pay attention, because otherwise we would never concern ourselves with the ketchup bottle or with Musiala’s headphones that are now being taped over.”
Levi’s trick
Naming rights sponsorships for stadiums are commonplace in the United States, but they are prohibited during the World Cup. Jeans brand Levi’s had its logo covered with white tarps in such a way that the outline of the logo remained clearly recognizable.
“A good marketing stunt,” says Pfeffel, but he also notes: “FIFA will probably keep this in mind for future tenders and add a few more clauses so that something like this may no longer be legally possible.”
Rangnick did not miss the trick either, saying: “I had to laugh a bit when I saw outside that the Levi’s logo had been covered. Of course, now nobody can tell what it’s actually called underneath.”
For advertiser Zitzmann, the campaign offers “an outstanding cost-benefit ratio.” After all, an advertising campaign generating similar attention would have been far more elaborate and expensive.
“All sports fans and sports media in the US know that it’s the Mercedes-Benz Arena, Levi’s Stadium, or MetLife Stadium. And with that brand awareness capital, these companies can get people talking by creatively and actively playing with the ban on visibility.”
The problem in Atlanta
Atlanta’s futuristic stadium is named after car manufacturer Mercedes-Benz, which reportedly pays $10 million per year for the naming rights through 2042. The company’s logo is displayed prominently on the arena’s roof.
FIFA obviously wanted it removed but was told by the the stadium operators: We can do that, but then we’ll have a structural problem.
Each of the eight roof sections weighs 500 tons. The issue of structural integrity ultimately convinced FIFA and Atlanta is thus the only stadium where the naming sponsor’s logo did not have to be concealed. Inside the stadium, however, around 2,000 Mercedes logos were covered.
The tricks of the others
Those who are not official FIFA sponsors find ways to sneak into the tournament’s attention span anyway. Companies deliberately buy TV advertising slots during halftime or during the hydration breaks newly introduced by FIFA.
At World Cup host locations, FIFA’s restrictions are countered with wordplay. The term “World Cup” may not be used, so slogans such as “Atlanta welcomes the world” were invented, or people refer to the “summer of soccer.” Completely permissible — and everyone knows what is meant.
The Iranian World Cup team will lodge a complaint with world football association FIFA over the unfair travel restrictions imposed on them during the North American tournament, Iran's football federation said Thursday.
Issued on: 19/06/2026
By: FRANCE 24
Iran's World Cup team will lodge a complaint with FIFA saying they are being subjected to travel restrictions during the tournament in North America, the Iranian football federation spokesman said on Thursday.
"Despite having submitted its preparation schedule for the tournament well in advance, Iran's national football team has once again encountered restrictions imposed by the organisers, affecting the implementation of its technical staff's plans," the spokesman said.
Iran wanted to fly from their base camp in Tijuana, Mexico, to the United States two days before their next match, against Belgium in Los Angeles on Sunday.
But the Iranian federation said its request was turned down.
"Given that the game will be played at 12pm local time in Los Angeles, the Football Federation of Iran requested that the team be allowed to travel to Los Angeles two days before the match," the spokesman said.
"The aim was to provide sufficient time for players to adapt to the match conditions, complete their final training session, and finalise preparations.
"Despite the technical reasons presented by the federation, the request was once again denied."
The Iranians were also angry that they had to leave Los Angeles the night of their first game of the World Cup, a 2-2 draw against New Zealand.
The US administration has pushed back against the Iranian claims.
Andrew Giuliani, the executive director of the White House FIFA Task Force, said on Monday that Iran had been informed in advance that they would be allowed to come into the United States only on the day before the game.
"The team will be allowed to come in, match day minus one, so the day before the match," Giuliani told CBS News.
"They'll be asked to leave the day that the match wraps up, so the evening of the match. And they'll be able to do that again in Los Angeles."
He added that the procedure would be the same for Iran's final group game against Egypt in Seattle on June 26.
(FRANCE 24 with AFP)
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