Safa apologises as visa chaos delays Bafana’s World Cup departure to Mexico

The South African Football Association (Safa) says most players and technical staff in the Bafana Bafana squad have received their visas, and their aircraft to the 2026 World Cup was set for take-off on Monday.

Safa said “four members of the camp” remain without visas, but it is hopeful those will be resolved in time to be on the chartered flight with the rest of the squad.

Safa apologised to South Africans for the administrative blunder that resulted in the team failing to leave as scheduled on Sunday and thanked the international relations & co-operation department (Dirco) and US consulate for their assistance in speedily resolving the matter.

“Safa held an emergency committee meeting on Sunday night where a number of issues around the South African senior men’s national team’s delayed travel plans to Mexico were discussed by the members,” the association said on Monday.

“It was revealed in the meeting that the only outstanding visas were for four members of the camp. However, Safa is working with the relevant authorities to ensure they also board the flight to North America.

“To strengthen operational co-ordination during the Fifa 2026 World Cup, Safa can further reveal that a three-member organising committee has been established to manage the team’s administrative affairs, comprising Bafana Bafana head of delegation David Molwantwa, Safa finance committee chair Mxolisi Sibam and team manager Vincent Tseka.

“The three will work together to ensure any logistical or administrative matters that may arise are dealt with expeditiously.

“While the visa delays resulted in the team losing a valuable day in its travel and preparation schedule, Safa is satisfied the matter has been substantially resolved and the team’s World Cup plans remain on course.

“Safa apologises to the nation for these unexpected travel delays and would like to thank Dirco and the US consulate in Joburg for their assistance. They went beyond the call of duty over the weekend to ensure visas were issued for all our players to travel.”

Safa officials scrambled to engage the US embassy in Joburg on Sunday after visas for many players and technical team members had not arrived by the weekend.

It is understood the late visas were due to an administrative blunder by Safa.

Teams and officials travelling to the World Cup obtain US visas, which also apply to co-hosts Mexico and Canada.

Sport, arts & culture minister Gayton McKenzie posted on X that the four members still waiting for visas were the “assistant coach [Helman Mkhalele], the team doctor, the head of security, and one analyst”.

On Sunday McKenzie slammed what he called a “Safa travel and visa debacle”, saying South Africa were “being made to look like fools”.

Bafana play the opening game of the World Cup against co-hosts Mexico at Estadio Azteca in Mexico City on June 11.

South Africa coach Hugo Broos wanted to leave at least 10 days before that match because he said it takes that length of time to adjust to high altitude.

Mexico City, at 2,240m above sea level, is 500m above high-altitude Joburg (1,750m).

Bafana’s training base at Universidad del Futbol y Ciencias del Deporte, part of the Grupo in Pachuca, 95km outside Mexico City, is even higher at 2,430m.

A Tuesday arrival will leave Bafana about 10 days to adapt to the altitude.

It was not clear if the late departure would affect plans to meet Jamaica in a final warm-up friendly in Mexico on a date to be announced.