The trip of the South African team, known as Bafana Bafana, to Mexico, where they will play the opening game of the 2026 World Cup, was postponed due to problems with obtaining visas for the United States. The flight, which was supposed to depart from Oliver Tambo International Airport, in Johannesburg, and land this Sunday, was rescheduled for Monday, confirmed the South African Football Federation (SAFA).
Key details
News of the delay was reported by the SABC on Saturday night, which later reported that at least 20 members of the delegation, mostly players, were still waiting for their visas to be processed by the United States Embassy. Furthermore, some members of the technical team were even refused visas.
In a statement issued on Sunday, SAFA clarified the situation: ‘The South Africa national team has faced challenges relating to visas for some players and staff and as a result the group has been unable to travel to North America this morning as originally planned.’ The federation assured that it was “working tirelessly to ensure that the team travels to Mexico City as quickly as possible.”
The Minister of Sports, Arts and Culture, Gayton Mc Kenzie, initially reacted on the social network X, classifying the episode as “embarrassing” and stating: “They are making us look foolish.” However, he later updated the situation: “All Bafana Bafana players received their visas to travel to the USA, with the assistant coach, team doctor, head of security and an analyst missing. The charter flight will depart tomorrow [Monday].»
All @Bafana Bafana players received their visas to travel to the USA, outstanding is assistant coach, team doctor, head of security and one analyst. The charter will leave tomorrow.
This setback affects the team’s preparation, which included a friendly against Jamaica in Mexico and an acclimatization period of at least 10 days, a plan long advocated by coach Hugo Broos. The opening game of the World Cup is scheduled for June 11 against Mexico, one of the organizers, at the Azteca Stadium.
Read more in Serie A news. and related tags: Bafana Bafana, USA.