South Africa captain Ronwen Williams has appealed for unity across the continent and urged supporters to keep politics separate from football after finding himself at the center of a social media storm during the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
The Bafana Bafana goalkeeper said he had been unfairly criticized over comments he insists he never made following South Africa’s 2-0 defeat to Mexico in the tournament’s opening match.
Speaking in a video published by the South African Broadcasting Corporation on Wednesday, Williams expressed frustration at what he described as a misrepresentation of his views, stressing that he has always supported the idea of Africans standing together on the global stage.
“I’ve been a target over the last few days about things that I haven’t said. I didn’t speak anything about Africa and people supporting Mexico,” Williams said.
“I can remember, I’ve always said that, as Africa, we are one, we support each other.”
The goalkeeper’s comments come amid widespread debate online after reports suggested he had questioned why many African supporters appeared to back Mexico rather than South Africa during the World Cup opener.
Williams, however, insisted that his focus remains firmly on football and that players should not be drawn into political disputes beyond their control.
“You know, in good and bad moments, we’ve all got our own politics, we’ve got our own problems, our own fights that we deal with back home,” he said.
“Every country does. So, I mean, I don’t know where it stemmed from, and it does hurt because, like I’ve mentioned, I’ve been attacked, obviously, my country as well, for things that are going on back home.
“And I’ve always said players are human beings as well. We go through it, and for us, sometimes it gets a lot. 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 be in that space.”
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The South African captain also highlighted football’s ability to bring people together regardless of nationality, pointing to the diverse atmosphere surrounding the World Cup in the United States.
“That’s the wonderful thing about sports. It can unite, it can make or break you, and it can bring people together,” Williams said.
“I mean, we are in Atlanta now, and I see so many Africans, South Africans, people from Mexico in one room. That’s the beauty of sport, that’s the beauty of football.”
He concluded with a direct appeal to supporters across the continent to focus on what happens on the pitch rather than political disagreements away from the game.
“Let’s just enjoy, let’s have a wonderful time, and we leave politics to the politicians. Let us just play football, enjoy ourselves and criticise for what happens on the field.
“Off the field things, we can’t deal with that, and it’s got nothing to do with us. So, yeah, as Africa, let’s unite and let’s keep going because we are all in this together.”
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The controversy emerged against the backdrop of long running tensions surrounding migration and xenophobia in South Africa, with social media users from several African countries openly admitting they supported Mexico in the opening match because of concerns over the treatment of African migrants living in the country.
