Soccer Football – FIFA World Cup 2026 – South Africa Training – Orlando Stadium, Soweto, South Africa – May 28, 2026 South Africa players during training. Image @ REUTERS/Siphiwe Sibeko/File Photo
A visa bureaucracy nightmare cast a shadow over Bafana Bafana’s World Cup preparations before the team eventually boarded a charter flight from OR Tambo International Airport on Monday, a day behind schedule, bound for their training base in Pachuca, Mexico.
Several players and officials had been unable to board the originally scheduled chartered flight, prompting urgent intervention by South Africa’s Department of International Relations and Cooperation. The South African Football Association (SAFA) held an emergency committee meeting on Sunday night to address the crisis, subsequently apologising to South Africans for what it described as an administrative blunder, while also thanking the department and the US consulate for helping resolve the matter.
The fallout was politically charged. Deputy Minister of Sport, Arts and Culture Peace Mabe described the situation as embarrassing and the result of poor administration, saying SAFA had failed in its planning responsibilities and should be held accountable. “I would not be able to tell at the moment as to what really happened but it is really embarrassing and it’s a shame that when young people are expected to be representing the country, they are now being disadvantaged because of administration, poor administration processes of Safa,” she said. Sports Minister Gayton McKenzie was equally scathing, accusing SAFA of making South Africa “look like fools.”
Left behind when the plane finally departed was assistant coach Helman Mkhalele, a 66-cap Bafana Bafana legend who featured at the country’s maiden World Cup appearance in France in 1998. Also unable to travel were the team doctor, the head of security and an analyst, all still awaiting US visa clearance. SAFA president Danny Jordaan said Mkhalele’s visa had been outright rejected, without explanation. “They (the US Consulate General in Johannesburg) refused the visa, but gave no reasons. It is very difficult to deal with the process where you get no information,” Jordaan told the South African Broadcasting Corporation. “We don’t know (why it was denied), we are clutching in the dark, but we hope the matter will be resolved (soon). All of the players are (on the flight) and 99% of the technical staff.”
Despite the chaos, coach Hugo Broos urged focus on the football ahead. “Now we are very happy that we can go to Mexico,” he said. “The past days have been a little bit stressful with all the problems we had, but those problems are behind us now and we can focus on what’s coming. These 10 days go very fast, once we get there we will start working, focusing on the first game against Mexico, so time will pass very quickly. I think everybody is looking forward to starting the World Cup.”
The delay had raised concerns about the team’s ability to acclimatise to high-altitude conditions and finalise tactical preparations before their June 11 opener against co-hosts Mexico at the iconic Estadio Azteca in Mexico City — the showpiece first match of the tournament. Bafana Bafana are scheduled to face Jamaica in a warm-up friendly on Friday before that landmark fixture
South Africa, appearing at their fourth World Cup finals, are drawn in Group A alongside the Czech Republic — whom they face in Atlanta on June 18 — and South Korea, with that match set for Monterrey, Mexico on June 24. They have never advanced beyond the group stage, and the ambition this time around is to finally change that record.
By: Andrews Kwesi Yeboah