Bok supporters, the Gwijo Squad, finally arrive in France after years of saving

“After three years of saving, after three years of planning, months of supporting each other, [the] Gwijo Squad has made it to Paris, France to watch and back the Springboks! France, where can we get beers for €1,” was the Gwijo Squad’s announcement that they’re in town.

It’s said that music is the shorthand for emotion because it can convey emotions that can’t be explained through general thought.

Emotions will be heightened on Sunday when the Boks take on host nation, France, in a much-anticipated Quarterfinal of the Rugby World Cup. The defending champions will need all the support they can get in the sold-out game.

The Gwijo Squad’s presence at Springbok games is palpable as they give the players a lift in performance. They’re a mainstay at Bok games – always there to welcome or give the national team a send-off when there’s a need.

A representative from the Gwijo Squad had not responded to The Citizen’s request for comment at the time of publishing.

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Where it all began

The Gwijo Squad is a sports fans movement with the purpose of being a catalyst for transformation in South African sport and stimulating an inclusive involvement of sport fans in the country.

The supporter’s movement was established in 2017 after Springboks ‘A’ faced the French Barbarians in Durban in an empty Moses Mabhida Stadium.

One fan that is now Gwijo Squad Chairman, Chulumanco Macingwane, contacted a few friends concerned about this paucity of support. After a week, 35 people united in Soweto to add their voices to a game that saw the same two teams face each other-giving birth to the Gwijo Squad.

“The Gwijo Squad is South African and South Africans are the Gwijo Squad,” Macingwane is quoted on the group’s website.

According to the group’s website, there are 920 Gwijo Squad members. In 2021 the group released a five track EP, with some of their strongest songs such as Sis’Ungavumi and Uthuleleni Mawande.

‘Gwijo’ is a practice of collective singing entrenched in South African Xhosa culture that takes the form of call and response.

Gwijo Squad not Gwijo Avenue

During the Fifa Women’s World Cup, where the national women’s soccer team made history in qualifying for the last 16 in the tournament, a video of the Mzansi ladies in the dressing room singing Hamba Wena went viral.

The song is by Acapella ensemble Gwijo Avenue.

“Gwijo Avenue is an acapella music group from Alexandra Township. We started the group during the national lockdown Coronavirus pandemic,” said the group’s founder Lerato ‘Maestro’ Langa speaking to the eNCA in August.

“I can actually say we were bored and wanted to do something that will keep us busy, but when we continued singing we saw that there was a positive reaction from the public,” averred Langa.

Gwijo Avenue has not released a body of work, but Hamba Wena is their only official release on streaming platforms.

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