South Africa rallies behind Ghana

AFP

South Africans adopted Ghana's team as their own for their FIFA World Cup™ quarter-final match, with street vendors hawking the Black Stars' flag and government officials rallying fans.

Bafana Bafana crashed out in the group stages, but with Ghana only the third African team ever to reach the quarter-finals, they have been adopted as "BaGhana" and cheered as the home side.

"Go BaGhana!" read The Citizen newspaper's front page. "Continent unites behind Black Stars, Africa's last World Cup hope," it said. "It's time for BaGhana" said The Star newspaper, above a picture of a woman in full body paint in the red, yellow and green of Ghana's flag.

The Times proclaimed "We Ghana win it". It went on: "Almost a billion Africans are standing behind Ghana's Black Stars - the continent's last hope of keeping the World Cup on home soil."

Street vendors in Johannesburg, where the Black Stars play Uruguay, largely swapped out theirBafana kit for scarves, beanies and flags in Ghana's colours.

Provincial premier Nomvula Mokonyane headed to a recreation centre in Johannesburg's Yeoville neighbourhood, where many West African immigrants live, to rally local fans for the match. The ruling African National Congress has embraced Ghana, praising the team for "salvaging the image of the continent in this tournament".