Bafana Bafana's Lyle Foster and Rele Mofokeng are put through their paces at training. Lukhanyo Sithole argues that support for Bafana Bafana rivals that of the Springboks or Proteas, but commercial value is where SA is letting Bafana down.
In his June 8, 2026 column, IOL’s Michael Sherman writes that Bafana Bafana are not as well supported in South Africa as the Springboks and the Proteas.
Sherman writes: "Even if Bafana were to pull off a massive shock at the FIFA World Cup and progress beyond the group stage, it’s still unlikely they will command major support back home like anything in the same ballpark as the Springboks or Proteas.”
Michael Sherman appears to be mistaking the sporting preferences of the circles he moves in for the sporting preferences of South Africa as a whole. This is incorrect and exposes his lack of touch with reality in the South African sporting landscape. If you look at SuperSport's viewership figures, you'll quickly see that football remains the backbone of its audience.
In places like Sandton, or Fourways, Centurion, Boksburg, Hyde Park and Constantia you will find that people living there care very little about football because it’s not the sport they watch with their kids on weekends. It’s not the sport they watch their kids play, and names such as Siphiwe Tshabalala, Reneilwe Letsholonyane, and Jerry Skhosana don’t resonate with them.
