On June 11, the Fifa World Cup kicked off at the Estadio Azteca in Mexico City, with co-hosts Mexico facing South Africa. A remarkable drama unfolded across digital platforms. African football fans were out for vengeance. Rather than rallying behind South Africa in pan-African solidarity, millions from Nigeria, Ghana, Zimbabwe and elsewhere openly supported Mexico.
They were punishing South Africa for the latest wave of xenophobic, or more accurately, Afrophobic, attacks, since the victims were overwhelmingly other Africans. Businesses were looted, homes ransacked, and hundreds fled.
