Reported by: Oahimire Omone Precious | Edited by: Henry Owen
South Africa’s Minister of Sport, Arts and Culture, Gayton McKenzie, has said he does not want Nigeria’s national team, the Super Eagles, to secure a place at the 2026 FIFA World Cup, a remark that risks widening diplomatic and sporting tensions between the two countries.
Speaking in an interview on Radio 947 in Johannesburg, McKenzie accused Nigerian football officials of working against South Africa’s own qualification bid and made clear he is rooting against Nigeria in the upcoming playoff. “I want to make it very clear that I wish for them not to qualify,” he told the broadcaster, adding that he believed Nigerians had acted behind the scenes to undermine Bafana Bafana’s campaign.
McKenzie’s comments follow a bitter qualifying period in which South Africa’s route to automatic qualification was disrupted by administrative and disciplinary issues, including the deduction of points that complicated the country’s group outcome. The minister used that context to argue Nigeria had played a part in those difficulties, an allegation Nigeria’s football authorities would likely reject.
The remarks drew swift coverage across Nigerian and regional media and are likely to be seized on by supporters on both sides. McKenzie — described in several reports as a former gang leader who later entered business and politics — has in recent weeks been outspoken about the handling of South African football matters and has publicly criticized the national football federation.
Observers say comments of this kind from a cabinet-level sports minister risk politicising a sporting contest and could complicate diplomatic relations if they fuel nationalist sentiment. For now, the Super Eagles prepare for their playoff ties while attention shifts to the broader conduct and governance issues that have shadowed the CAF qualifying process this season.
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