The South African Football Association (SAFA) announced that the national team has postponed its departure for the 2026 FIFA World Cup due to complications obtaining entry visas for Mexico – the co-host nation they are set to face in the tournament's opening match on June 11.
Bafana Bafana was scheduled to take a chartered flight from Johannesburg to Mexico City on Sunday morning local time, but was forced to remain at the airport because visas for several players and coaching staff members had not been processed. “The men’s national team encountered difficulties related to the visas of some players and officials, meaning the delegation could not travel to North America this morning as originally planned,” SAFA said in a statement.
The opening match of the 2026 World Cup between Mexico and South Africa will be played at the Azteca Stadium. SAFA stressed it is “working tirelessly to ensure the team can reach Mexico City as soon as possible before the opening match” and that “Bafana Bafana will continue training in Johannesburg until they depart.”
The South African squad had a formal send-off ceremony in Johannesburg on Saturday ahead of their first World Cup appearance since hosting the tournament in 2010. However, the flight from OR Tambo International Airport was delayed. South Africa’s Sports Minister Gayton McKenzie sharply criticized the situation, calling it “shameful and a brutal injustice.” “We are being made a laughingstock,” he wrote on social media platform X.
Before the World Cup, South Africa is scheduled to play a friendly against Jamaica on June 5. After the opener against Mexico, they will face Czech Republic (June 18) and South Korea (June 24). Coach Hugo Broos finalized his 26-player squad earlier this week, which includes two players who have never been capped for the national team.
On social media, many questioned why the team held a parade in Johannesburg if officials were aware of the unresolved visa situation. South Africa is not the first team to face visa troubles at the World Cup. According to Iranian state media, members of Iran’s national team have also not yet received visas to enter the United States, where they will play their opening match against New Zealand on June 15 and two other group-stage games. FIFA informed the vice president of the Iranian Football Federation that “administrative work is underway and visas will be issued this week.”
