Away from the pitches of the 2026 Fifa World Cup, African football legends George Weah and Mercy Akide came out of retirement to play in a match of their own to tackle hate speech and racism in football. At an event held at the National Center for Civil and Human Rights in Atlanta, Georgia, Weah and Akide were part of a panel discussion involving Fifa, TikTok and City of Atlanta officials to mark the International Day for Countering Hate Speech on Thursday. During the discussion, the Fifa Social Media Protection Service (SMPS) revealed it ejected more than 30-million abusive social media posts and comments since the World Cup in Qatar four years ago. Former Liberian president and football legend George Weah warns against attacks on referees as some decisions in the ongoing 2026 World Cup spark controversy. In a message marking the International Day for Countering Hate Speech on 18 June, Weah says ''everyone makes mistakes'' pic.twitter.com/UX1NN8FsPj— TRT Afrika (@trtafrika) June 18, 2026
Bafana Bafana captain and goalkeeper Ronwen Williams this week also spoke about the abuse players receive from fans online if results don’t go their way, calling for it to be stopped. “If I look back, I would say nothing has changed,” said 1995 Fifa World Player of the Year winner Weah, who is the Fifa Players’ Voice Panel honorary captain. “I experienced racial abuse when racism was at its peak but we are still here talking about it today. Football is not only a game of chance, it’s a game of unity. I have had my fair share. I have heard people call me N-word, B-Word, the F-word and also told me to get into the ship that brought me here to America— Mercy Akide, former Nigeria footballer“There are a lot of elements that want to destroy the game. Football is a game of peace, a game of unity. What we are trying to do here, with Fifa and president Gianni Infantino, we are doing at the right time. “If we allow these things to slide, the beautiful game will be destroyed. That’s why we are fighting. We are trying to educate young people so they grow into loving people, not only people who love the game. Discrimination has no place in our society.” Players’ Voice Panel member and former Nigeria international footballer Akide, who played in the US for Hampton Roads Piranhas and San Diego Spirit, also spoke about her racism experiences. “I have had my fair share,” she said.“I have heard people call me N-word, B-word, the F-word and also told me to get into the ship that brought me here to America. That hit me because I only read about it in books, but for somebody to say it in my face, it was going deep into my generation and that is not acceptable. “It makes me sick to see people hate other people. There’s no better time to do this than this time. It made me empowered to hear that we must bring everybody and do this [take measures]. Listening to the panel, it makes me want to do more.” A central focal point of the event was to explain how the SMPS and Fifa monitor and intercept online abuse in real-time to protect players, teams and officials. Since its inception, the SMPS has delivered major protective coverage across Fifa’s global tournaments and events. More than 250-million comments and posts have been reviewed, with more than 30-million identified as harmful. All the World Cup fixtures hereWorld Cup page hereAll the group profiles hereStar player profiles hereBafana news hereTimesLIVE
