Clubs sign players for their performances on the pitch, but these days there is also value to be had in terms of the interest and weight of social media numbers they bring to a team as well, especially clubs not so used to the spotlight.
When Foster joined the Premier League club in January 2023, his arrival video garnered 17 million views at the time, and there was a sudden rush of sign-ups from South Africa across their social media platforms.
Foster himself has a relatively modest following on Instagram, at almost 78,000, but for South African fans it is often less about interacting with the player and more about his club – telling the coach where to play him or asking why he is on the bench.
South African fans have always been vocal and opinionated, but social media has given them an outlet for their voices to be heard in a way they never enjoyed before, and they are taking advantage.
The country’s most popular club, Kaizer Chiefs, has over 10 million followers across its social media platforms, and on matchday they are abuzz with engagement – positive and negative – and never short of banter.
Everyone is a ‘coach’, everyone knows what is best for the team or player, and they never shy away from sharing that view.
South Africa does not have many players in top leagues overseas – Foster is the only one plying his trade in a top-five European competition, and that could come to an end this season if Burnley are relegated.
So when a popular player does move to a league of some repute, there is also a novelty factor and a bandwagon to jump on.
Mbokazi joined Chicago Fire from Orlando Pirates, Chiefs’ bitter Soweto rivals and the second most popular team in the country.
He was already a cult figure at the age of 19 after a meteoric rise for club and country through his all-action displays.
His move to Major League Soccer was a talking point in itself, in that many believed he was ready for a bigger league, with national team coach Hugo Broos providing his own criticism of it.
So when it was officially announced by Fire, it was a hot topic, but even they were astounded by the reaction they got across their social media platforms.
According to The Athletic, in the first two days following the announcement, the club saw an increase of 180,000 followers across its accounts, and Fire led MLS in social media engagement.
As of the start of March, close to 600,000 accounts from South Africa now follow Fire, a quarter of their entire social media audience. Their Facebook growth went from 320,000 to almost 540,000 in one week.
“When we were evaluating the player and you hear about the player’s background, how excited people in South Africa are about him, talking about the generational talent, you start to get an understanding of it,” Chicago Fire coach Gregg Berhalter said.
“But to fully understand the impact and the popularity was difficult. To see that in just a flurry of engagement on the internet was somewhat surprising.”
There is, of course, a monetary value to growing followers on social media these days and, while these numbers may still be modest in the greater scheme of things, it does improve Fire’s ability to generate income on these platforms. And not only them.
MLS posted a video on Facebook of Mbokazi making two goal-line clearances on debut that now has 8.6 million views. It has over 5 million views on TikTok, when most MLS posts are in the 20,000 to 30,000 range.
Chicago Fire’s posts of Mbokazi in training or in casual settings immediately gain traction and well over a million views, while their regular content may get a couple of hundred thousand at best.
And there is proof that it is not just Mbokazi alone. Fire also signed South African Puso Dithejane, a winger who may take more time to bed into MLS. His welcome video on TikTok has been viewed 1.2 million times, well above the club average.
Sporting considerations will always come first, but in the digital age, where more and more value is placed on brand exposure and return on investment for sponsors, the right South African players could in future be a handy tool off the pitch for clubs to grow their presence and popularity.
One thing is for sure, Mbokazi's signing has put Fire on the map in Africa and as he develops, that interest will only grow with a World Cup looming.