Tyla to perform SA national anthem for Fifa World Cup opening

South Africans around the world will have their eyes fixed on Mexico City’s Estadio Azteca on Thursday as Bafana Bafana take on hosts Mexico in the opening match of the 2026 Fifa World Cup.

Adding to the occasion, two-time Grammy-award-winning icon Tyla is set to perform the South African national anthem before kickoff, bringing Mzansi flavour to one of the world’s biggest sporting stages.

She will also be performing a medley of hits, including a collaborative Afropop Fifa track with US rapper Future, titled Game Time.

The match marks a historic moment for South Africa, which returns to the Fifa World Cup after a 16-year absence. It is also a remarkable replay of history. The last time South Africa appeared in a World Cup opener was in 2010, when Siphiwe Tshabalala’s unforgettable goal helped secure a 1-1 draw against Mexico in Johannesburg.

Now, 16 years later, the two nations meet again to launch football’s biggest tournament.

For South Africans living abroad, particularly in New York City, the occasion has become a rallying point for national pride. Community organisations, sports bars and cultural groups across the city are preparing watch parties as supporters gather to cheer on Bafana Bafana and celebrate one of South Africa’s brightest global stars.

“Football is the international community’s favourite sport and the Fifa World Cup the ultimate sporting prize,” said South African consul general of New York Simon Cardy to TimesLIVE. “South Africans are gathering at viewing parties, braais, and pubs across the city, and the mayor is giving press conferences reminiscing about his experience at the 2010 World Cup of Vuvuzelas.”

The South African consulate, in conjunction with The Paley Museum, is presenting an official Fifa World Cup watch party by invitation to various consulates in the city that are hosting matches.

The Africa Centre and El Museo del Barrio are hosting a free community screening of the World Cup opening match in addition to a Youth Day celebration. In Brooklyn, OkayAfrica and creative community Elsewhere are hosting a free World Cup watch party that has expanded its venue due to extremely high demand.

Neil Diamond, president of the South African Chamber of Commerce in the US, has been planning a series of cultural, sporting, and economic diplomacy events in Atlanta, Georgia, during the World Cup.

Brand South Africa, in partnership with the Global South Africans Network, will also be hosting an official welcome in Atlanta on June 16 presented by the ambassador of South Africa to the U.S. and government ministers.

Other events include a South African cultural showcase and art exhibition, a business roundtable and B2B networking with the SA chamber and the Atlanta Black Chamber of Commerce and a Nelson Mandela Legacy Visit and Commemoration at the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, taking place around the South Africa vs Czechia game in Atlanta on June 18.

“When I think back on my first World Cup, some of my most meaningful memories weren’t in the stadium, they were in the fan zones, surrounded by thousands of people brought together by a pure love of the game,” mayor Zohran Mamdani — who spent his early childhood in South Africa — said in a press statement.

South African Lee-Ann Benjamin, who leads the community education group Heavenly SA and has lived in the US for 25 years, said the World Cup kick-off reminds her so much of 2010.

“While many South Africans are actually going to Mexico to watch the game, I will be in New York and wearing my Bafana Bafana gear again,” said Benjamin. “We’ll be enjoying some good ol’ biltong, and maybe a Savannah or two. Can’t wait for the opening ceremony and seeing Tyla perform.”

For many South Africans abroad, Thursday’s ceremony will be about more than football. It will be a celebration of culture, identity and connection to home — even though vuvuzelas will be banned from all stadiums.

As Tyla takes centre stage before a global television audience and Bafana Bafana walk onto the field, South Africans from Johannesburg to Brooklyn will share in a moment of unity. Whether gathered in homes, restaurants or public viewing events, supporters will be hoping the opening ceremony inspires the team to make a memorable start to its World Cup campaign

TimesLIVE