Mama Joy on ‘superfan’ funding: ‘I’ll be watching the World Cup from home'

Chante Ho Hip

Chante Ho Hip

10 April 2026 | 5:24

She claimed that two of her previous trips were funded by President Cyril Ramaphosa, not the Department of Sport, Arts and Culture.

Mama Joy on ‘superfan’ funding: ‘I’ll be watching the World Cup from home'

South African supporter Joy Chauke "Mama Joy" (C) poses for a photograph with South Africa supporters in the stands ahead of the France 2023 Rugby World Cup quarter-final match between France and South Africa at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis, on the outskirts of Paris, on October 15, 2023. (Photo by Anne-Christine POUJOULAT / AFP)

South African superfan Joy Chauke, also known as Mama Joy, has affirmed that she did not ask the Department of Sport, Arts and Culture (DSAC) to fund a trip to the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

Speaking to CapeTalk’s Lester Kiewit, Chauke said that while she put out a call for funding, it was not directed at the Department. 

“No one is going to be paying for my tickets. I will be watching the game from home… I didn’t ask the minister to take me to the World Cup.” 

She and DSAC Minister Gayton McKenzie have been in a public spat over funding for fans. 

Chauke claimed that her trips to the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup and 2023 Rugby World Cups were funded by President Cyril Ramaphosa, not the department.

“I asked the President of the country, and I was granted by him... I only knew yesterday when he [McKenzie] said R700k. I didn’t even know how much they spent on me.” 

She explained that she was, however, interested in the 50 fans that McKenzie hinted at taking to the upcoming tournament. 

“I was asking that question now that the World Cup is here, where are the 50 fans that he said he would take? It is not about me because I knew that he wouldn’t take me.

“I went to the Olympics without him, I went to qualifying games without him, and I also went to AFCON without him… I was asking for those who would like to fund me, not him.”

To listen to Chauke in conversation with Kiewit, use the audio player below:

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