South Africa’s flight from Johannesburg’s OR Tambo International Airport to Mexico for the opening match of the FIFA World Cup, scheduled to land on on Sunday morning, was delayed, SAFA confirmed, but it was rebooked for Monday morning.
The SABC broke news of the flight delay on Saturday night. Their subsequent reporting claimed that at least 20 of the travelling contingent — mostly, but not only players — were still having their Visas processed by the United States Embassy, while technical team members have had Visas declined.
On X, Sports, Arts & Culture Minister Gayton McKenzie initially slammed the “embarrassing” saga and said: “We are being made to look like fools”, but subsequently wrote on the platform on Sunday evening: “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 (Monday).”
All @BafanaBafana 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.
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— Gayton McKenzie (@GaytonMcK) May 31, 2026
Bafana Bafana were scheduled to play a friendly against Jamaica in Mexico prior to kicking off the World Cup against the tournament co-hosts in Mexico City on June 11.
A Sunday statement by the association read: “The South African Football Association (SAFA) wishes to update the nation on Bafana Bafana’s travel plans to Mexico ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
“The South African senior men’s national team has experienced challenges regarding Visas for some players and officials, and as a result the group could not travel to North America this morning as originally planned.
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“SAFA is working around the clock to ensure that the team travels to Mexico City as soon as possible ahead of the opening match of the global tournament against the hosts Mexico at the Estadio Azteca on June 11, 2026.
“We remain committed to ensuring that the team’s preparations for the tournament remain on track and in the meantime, Bafana Bafana will continue to train in Johannesburg until departure.”
The Visa issue is the latest in a long line of administrative problems which Bafana Bafana have been affected by. Recently, they were docked three points in FIFA World Cup qualifying as a result of midfielder Teboho Mokoena playing against Lesotho last March, despite being suspended at the time due to an accumulation of yellow cards.
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South Africa sealed their place at the tournament in the final round of group stage qualifiers in October despite the mishap – which SAFA have claimed came as a result of team manager Vincent Tseka fetching ice at the time Mokoena picked up a yellow card, and therefore not being aware of the booking.
Bafana Bafana head coach Hugo Broos had said at the time that he, too, felt responsible for the Mokoena saga due to selecting a suspended player.
The delayed Mexico departure, however, was beyond his control. Broos has long-stated plans of a training camp of at least 10 days in Mexico to acclimatise.
