Papa Wawa's Plea To Gayton McKenzie

One of the lucky superfans selected to go watch Bafana Bafana at the 2026 FIFA World Cup in Mexico, Papa Wawa, has opened up on the potential life-changing moment.

The Minister of Sport, Arts and Culture, Gayton McKenzie, recently revealed the 16 names of the selected superfans, who will be travelling to Mexico, to watch Bafana open the World Cup against Mexico on 11 June.

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The Sport, Arts and Culture department organized a panel of judges to select the winners, after they urged supporters to enter the competition, and Papa Wawa, whose real name is Vennetious Motswi, a popular Kaizer Chiefs supporter, was one of the lucky fans.

With ticket prices for the World Cup, particularly for the opening game, so exorbitant, Motswi has described how grateful he is for the opportunity.

"I'm very happy, I'm over the moon. It means a lot to me, this will be my first World Cup, I watched my first World Cup, the 2010, which we were hosting, I was at home in the deepest rural, dusty streets of Tzaneen, and this a once in a life-time opportunity for me," Motswi said in an interview on Newzroom Afrika.

"And it's not only a win for me but every rural boy, every rural girl who looks up to me and dreams of something such as this, so I'm very happy, I can't wait to go and represent the nation in Mexico."

Mckenzie also announced that corporate sponsors would be the ones carrying the costs of the supporters travelling to Mexico, and only for the opening match, and Motsi also appealed to the Sport minister to extend their stay at the global tournament.

"I hope the Minister of Sport Mr Gayton Mckenzie is listening, I hope he extends that we go and watch the other two matches in the group stages, because I'm of the belief that Bafana Bafana will survive to tell the tale out of the group stages, so I'm hoping they extend, because we are there not to add numbers but to leave our mark," Motswi added.

After opening the tournament against Mexico, Bafana will play Czechia on 18 June and complete the section against South Korea seven days later.

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