The fight against xenophobia was taken to the soccer field yesterday in a bid to unite South Africans and Zimbabweans against the ill-treatment of foreign nationals.

The Ubuntu Derby, played at the Johannesburg Stadium, saw South Africa's Jomo Cosmos battle it out against Zimbabwe's Highlanders.

Young Communist League national secretary Buti Manamela said South Africans needed to show the same hospitality they as they did to World Cup visitors.

"We've been very hospitable to Europeans and Asians, yet we turn against our fellow Africans. It's inhuman. We went through apartheid and were welcomed in other countries. We can't now discriminate against foreigners," he said.

Manamela said the government needed to improve service delivery and job creation to avert xenophobic tension in the country.

"It's not at all about hatred. It's a battle for resources. Many people are jobless and are not reaping the fruits of democracy."

Joyce Dube, director of the Southern African Women's Institute on Migration Affairs, said sport had always been used as a uniting tool in a country "plagued by prejudices for too long".

Bishop Paul Verryn of the Central Methodist Church in Johannesburg's city centre, which accommodates thousands of homeless Zimbabweans, said there was an opportunity to ''ride on the Fifa World Cup wave".

"We would like to achieve the same African unity we saw when the continent united behind Ghana during the World Cup," said Verryn.