Caught offside

“Caught offside” focuses on how anti-migrant politics in South Africa are intersecting with World Cup football discourse and coverage of Bafana Bafana. It describes Gayton McKenzie, South Africa’s Minister of Sports, Arts and Culture and a leading voice in the Patriotic Alliance, shouting “Abahambe!” during a rally at Orlando Stadium in Soweto in late November 2023. The article links that stance to calls to target “illegal foreigners,” referencing a pledge to cut off oxygen at Rahima Moosa Mother and Child Hospital if the PA comes to power. It also cites the “March and March” movement, which advocates stronger immigration enforcement, claims about migrants overloading health and school systems, and a warning to undocumented foreigners to leave by June 30. The piece claims those figures were circulated broadly and uncritically, and notes Jacinta Ngobese-Zuma was fired from VUMA FM after remarks about foreign nationals and public hospitals, later receiving prominent media attention.