Visibly absent was the known display of African unity at the FIFA soccer World Cup but present was the social media taunting of South Africa by many fans from across the continent who backed Mexico in the tournament’s opening match against South Africa.

The memes were light-hearted, including sombreros, mariachi bands, and tacos, pointing to a dark underbelly of anger and disappointment over the ever recurring xenophobic attacks against black Africans by South africans.

A poor South African performance on the pitch led to a 2-0 defeat against the World Cup co-hosts, Mexico.

But the final whistle was to witness a social media frenzy of happy mocking posts against the losers.

The normal display of African unity in the early stages of a football World Cup was notably absent from social media as many fans from across the continent backed Mexico in the tournament’s opening match against South Africa.

Ahead of Thursday’s match, some African football fans justified their support for Mexico by linking it to the current tensions in South Africa over migration.

“You want people to cheer for you when you play soccer just because we’re African?” one X user asked, citing reports of mistreatment of migrants.

“We’re supporting Mexico so that South Africa can go back home early to protect their jobs,” another user posted, playing on the unfounded accusation that foreigners were responsible for South Africa’s high unemployment rate.

“I hope South Africa is not blaming African migrants for the 2–0 defeat and two red cards in the match against Mexico,” posted Ahmednasir Abdullahi, a prominent Kenyan lawyer.

Others shared memes playfully embracing Mexican culture for the day, changing their profile pictures to Mexican flags and adopting Spanish-sounding names, under the caption “Mexico versus xenophobia”.

Daniel Kaniki, a Congolese football supporter who was at a fan park in the US city of Atlanta, told the BBC: “Africa is like one country, and if one is chasing others, we are not a family anymore. That’s why I’m supporting Mexico today.”

But some South Africans pushed back, praising the spirit of their team, nicknamed Bafana Bafana.

South Africa is one of 10 African teams at this year’s expanded World Cup, with the US and Canada co-hosting along with Mexico.

By Isa Abdul, Abuja

The Super Eagles of Nigeria have maintained 26th position in the latest men’s rankings released by the Federation of International Football Associations, FIFA, on Thursday, 11th June, 2026.

In their series of friendly matches played, the three-time African champions defeated the Warriors of Zimbabwe 2-0 and recorded a 3-0 victory over the Reggae Boyz of Jamaica.

In June, Nigeria played a friendly against Poland in Warsaw, which ended in a 2-2 draw.

But the Super Eagles lost 2-1 to Portugal in another international friendly in Leiria on Wednesday night.

In the fresh rankings, they also maintained third position in Africa behind Atlas Lions of Morocco and Teranga Lions of Senegal.

Desert Foxes of Algeria and Pharaohs of Egypt complete the top five teams on the continent respectively.

The top five global rankings remain unchanged, with world champions Argentina maintaining number one spot ahead of Spain, France, England, and Portugal in that order.

The next FIFA World rankings will be released on Monday, July 20.

By Tokunbo Peters

FIFA may have made a serious mistake by allowing the United States to co-host the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

Imagine U.S. immigration authorities in Miami denying entry to Africa’s best referee, Omar Abdulkadir Artan, who was appointed by FIFA to officiate at the tournament, despite holding a valid U.S. visa.

Denying Omar Abdulkadir entry into the United States and preventing him from officiating in scheduled matches undermines football’s apolitical ideals, its commitment to meritocracy, and the spirit of fair play that FIFA constantly promotes. It has also deprived Africa of fair representation among the tournament’s referees. FIFA ought to have intervened to facilitate his entry into the United States or, alternatively, assigned him to matches scheduled to be played in Mexico or Canada, the other co-hosts of the tournament.

Similarly, the United States has barred the Iranian national football team from staying overnight on American soil, even though the players and technical staff were granted visas to participate in the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Instead, they have been instructed to remain in Tijuana, Mexico, and cross the border only on match days, returning immediately after their games.

This would be akin to a team travelling from Cotonou, Benin Republic, to play matches in Lagos and then returning to Cotonou on the same day. Such an arrangement would be physically demanding and exhausting, leaving the players at a significant disadvantage to compete favourably against their opponents.

FIFA frequently insists that there is no place for politics in football, but in practice, this principle often appears to be applied selectively. In 2023, FIFA stripped Indonesia of its right to host the FIFA U-20 World Cup just two months before the tournament after the Governor of Bali called for Israel’s youth team to be barred from playing matches on the island.

It is also noteworthy that Russia was suspended by both FIFA and UEFA from international football competitions following its invasion of Ukraine, while Israel has remained untouched despite its genocide in Gaza, the indictment of its Prime Minister Benjamin Natanyahu for war crimes and crimes against humanity by the ICC and calls from various international human rights organisations for sanctions against Israel. Even European Union countries like France, Spain, Ireland, Slovenia, Sweden, and the Netherlands have called for sanctions against Israel. But FIFA that was quick to ban Russia has been unperturbed.

From all indications, FIFA appears to operate with two sets of rules, applying them differently depending on the country involved.