{"id":55283,"date":"2026-04-07T11:36:34","date_gmt":"2026-04-07T11:36:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/?p=55283"},"modified":"2026-04-07T11:36:34","modified_gmt":"2026-04-07T11:36:34","slug":"utm_sourcerssutm_mediumrssutm_campaignmama-joy-chaukes-world-cup-plea-rejected-by-minister-gayton-mckenzie","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/2026\/04\/07\/utm_sourcerssutm_mediumrssutm_campaignmama-joy-chaukes-world-cup-plea-rejected-by-minister-gayton-mckenzie\/","title":{"rendered":"Mama Joy Chauke\u2019s World Cup plea rejected by Minister Gayton McKenzie"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <script data-jetpack-boost=\"ignore\" async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-1669381584671856\"\r\n     crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script>\r\n<!-- Africa tv video display -->\r\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\"\r\n     style=\"display:block\"\r\n     data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-1669381584671856\"\r\n     data-ad-slot=\"3579572842\"\r\n     data-ad-format=\"auto\"\r\n     data-full-width-responsive=\"true\"><\/ins>\r\n<script data-jetpack-boost=\"ignore\">\r\n     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\r\n<\/script><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div id=\"mvp-content-main\">&#13;<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_163900\" style=\"width: 610px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-163900\" class=\"wp-image-163900 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Mama-Joy-thanks-Nigeria-for-jersey-and-tickets-ahead-of.jpg?resize=600%2C466&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"466\" srcset=\"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Mama-Joy-thanks-Nigeria-for-jersey-and-tickets-ahead-of.jpg 600w, https:\/\/fakazanews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/Mama-Joy-300x233.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\"\/><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-163900\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Minister refuses to bankroll Mama Joy\u2019s World Cup trip<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>South Africa\u2019s most recognisable superfan, Mama Joy Chauke, has publicly appealed for assistance to attend the 2026 FIFA World Cup, only to be firmly turned down by Sports, Arts and Culture Minister Gayton McKenzie.<\/p>\n<p>Taking to social media platform X, Mama Joy celebrated Bafana Bafana\u2019s qualification for the tournament while tagging FIFA president Gianni Infantino and asking for help to make the trip.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI would like to be there\u2026 I am asking any help from anyone to help me attend World Cup 2026,\u201d she wrote.<\/p>\n<p>Her request was met with a blunt response from McKenzie, who suggested that her partner should foot the bill.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe got you a husband, my sister, let him pay for the love of his life\u2026 the Euro is very strong\u2026 let him pay, Sista Joy,\u201d he tweeted.<\/p>\n<p>The minister later defended his stance, stating that the government has no plans to fund superfans.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy should I lie using diplomatic language. Our policy is not under review\u2026 We are not going to pay for superfans as a department. It\u2019s unfair because SA is full of superfans.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He also rejected claims that fans could submit sponsorship proposals to the department.<\/p>\n<p>Mama Joy has long been a fixture at sporting events, gaining attention for her vibrant outfits and energetic support of South African teams.<\/p>\n<p>While admired by many, her high-profile appearances have often raised questions about how her travels are financed.<\/p>\n<p>McKenzie\u2019s response underscores a stricter approach to public spending, prioritising development and infrastructure over funding individual fans, regardless of their public profile.<\/p>\n<p>With the 2026 World Cup in North America expected to carry significant travel and accommodation costs, Mama Joy\u2019s dream may yet depend on private sponsorship or corporate backing, avenues that have supported prominent fans in the past.<\/p>\n<p><!-- CONTENT END 4 -->\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p><script data-jetpack-boost=\"ignore\" async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-1669381584671856\"\r\n     crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script>\r\n<!-- Africa tv video display -->\r\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\"\r\n     style=\"display:block\"\r\n     data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-1669381584671856\"\r\n     data-ad-slot=\"3579572842\"\r\n     data-ad-format=\"auto\"\r\n     data-full-width-responsive=\"true\"><\/ins>\r\n<script data-jetpack-boost=\"ignore\">\r\n     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\r\n<\/script><br \/>\n#Mama #Joy #Chaukes #World #Cup #plea #rejected #Minister #Gayton #McKenzie<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#13; Minister refuses to bankroll Mama Joy\u2019s World Cup trip South Africa\u2019s most recognisable superfan, Mama Joy Chauke, has publicly&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":47456,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-55283","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mzansi"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55283","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=55283"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55283\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":55284,"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55283\/revisions\/55284"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/47456"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=55283"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=55283"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=55283"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}