Hundreds of South Africans protested in Durban ahead of Spain's first World Cup match on Wednesday to demand the government lavish the same spending on the poor as for the tournament.

Among the 500 protesters in the downtown Durban park were security guards working at Durban's stadium, who clashed with riot police after the Germany-Australia match on Sunday in protest over their wages.

Their action sparked a series of walk-outs in Cape Town and Johannesburg, prompting police to take over security at those stadiums.

Other protesters included fishermen removed from their spots on the beachfront city's piers and vendors at a fresh market the city is trying to shut down to make way for a shopping mall.

"If we have money for stadiums, we should not have any homeless people or people having to live in shacks," organiser Allan Murphy said in a statement ahead of the protest.

South Africa's government has poured 33 billion rands ($A4.96 billion) into World Cup preparations, which critics say could have been better spent on improving lagging public services.

Brought to you by AAP © 2024 AAP