SAFA has confirmed that South Africa’s flight from Johannesburg’s OR Tambo International Airport to Mexico for the FIFA World Cup opening match, originally set to arrive on Sunday morning, has been delayed and rescheduled for Monday morning.
The SABC reported the delay on Saturday evening, indicating that at least 20 members of the traveling party — including players and staff — were still waiting for visa processing by the United States Embassy, while several technical team members had their visa applications denied.
Initially expressing frustration on X, Sports, Arts & Culture Minister Gayton McKenzie described the situation as “embarrassing” and stated: “We are being made to look like fools.” However, he later updated on the platform on Sunday evening, confirming: “All Bafana Bafana players have received their travel visas to the USA; the only ones pending are those for the assistant coach, team doctor, head of security, and one analyst. The charter will depart tomorrow (Monday).”
All @BafanaBafana players received their visas to travel to the USA; outstanding is the assistant coach, team doctor, head of security, and one analyst. The charter will leave tomorrow.
— Gayton McKenzie (@GaytonMcK) May 31, 2026
Bafana Bafana were set to play a friendly match against Jamaica in Mexico before their World Cup opener against the tournament’s co-hosts on June 11 in Mexico City.
A Sunday statement from SAFA explained: “The South African Football Association (SAFA) wants to inform the nation about Bafana Bafana’s travel plans to Mexico leading up to the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
“The team has faced challenges securing visas for some players and staff, which prevented their planned departure to North America this morning.
“SAFA is working diligently to ensure the team reaches Mexico City as soon as possible, leading up to the opening match against hosts Mexico at Estadio Azteca on June 11, 2026. We are committed to keeping the team’s preparations on track, and in the meantime, Bafana Bafana will continue to train in Johannesburg until their departure.”
This visa issue is the latest in a series of administrative hurdles faced by Bafana Bafana. Recently, they were penalized three points in FIFA World Cup qualifying after midfielder Teboho Mokoena played against Lesotho last March while suspended due to accumulated yellow cards.
Despite this setback, South Africa secured a spot in the tournament during the final group stage qualifiers in October, despite issues that SAFA attributed to team manager Vincent Tseka being away fetching ice when Mokoena received his yellow card.
Bafana Bafana head coach Hugo Broos took responsibility for the Mokoena situation, acknowledging his role in selecting a suspended player. However, the delay of the Mexico departure is beyond his control. Broos has emphasized the importance of a training camp of at least 10 days in Mexico to help the team acclimatize.