South Africa will depart for the World Cup on Monday, a day later than planned, after all the players received their visas to travel through the United States, sports minister Gayton McKenzie confirmed on Sunday.
The team had been due to leave on a charter flight for their training base in the Mexican city of Pachuca on Sunday but that was postponed while the South African Football Association (SAFA) tried to sort out the paperwork.
"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)," McKenzie said on X.
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.
— Gayton McKenzie (@GaytonMcK) May 31, 2026
He had earlier issued a furious rebuke to SAFA over the paperwork issues, calling them "embarrassing and grossly unfair towards the players and coaching staff", adding "we are being made to look like fools".
This @SAFA_net travel & visa debacle is embarrassing & grossly unfair towards the players & coaching staff. I have informed @SAFA_net that I need a report and action must be taken against those responsible for this mess. We are being made to look like fools.
— Gayton McKenzie (@GaytonMcK) May 31, 2026
The football association confirmed in a statement that the team had been unable to fly in the morning as planned due to "challenges regarding visas" for some players and officials.
SAFA STATEMENT
Bafana Bafana will depart for Mexico today after visas were secured for all the players on Sunday, 31 May 2026.
The South African Football Association (SAFA) held an Emergency Committee Meeting on Sunday night, 31 May 2026 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. It was revealed in the meeting that the only outstanding visas are for four members of the camp, however SAFA is working closely with the relevant authorities to ensure that they also board the flight to North America.
To strengthen operational coordination during the FIFA World Cup, SAFA can further reveal that a three-member organising committee has been established to manage the team’s administrative affairs during the 2026 FIFA World Cup comprising of: Bafana Bafana Head of Delegation (HOD) David Molwantwa, SAFA Chairperson of the Finance Committee Mxolisi Sibam together with the Team Manager Vincent Tseka.
The three will work together in ensuring that any logistical or administrative matters that may arise during the global tournament 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 that the matter has now been substantially resolved and that the team’s World Cup plans remain firmly on course.
SAFA apologises to the nation for these unexpected travel delays and would like to thank the Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO) for their assistance, as well as the US Consulate in Johannesburg who went beyond their call of duty over the weekend to ensure that the visas were issued for all our players to travel.
This year’s FIFA World Cup will be hosted by the United States of America, Canada and Mexico from 11 June to 19 July 2026.
South Africa kick off the World Cup in Mexico City on June 11, and are appearing at the global finals for the first time since they were hosts themselves in 2010.
Coach Hugo Broos had previously spoken of wanting to be in Mexico by June 1 at the latest to allow his players to recover from jetlag and acclimatise to the altitude, though they will now arrive a day later.
Pachuca is around 680 metres further above sea level than Johannesburg at 2,432m.
South Africa are due to play Jamaica in Mexico on Friday in a final warm-up fixture.
An administrative bungle in qualifying almost cost them their place at the finals when their 2-0 victory over Lesotho was overturned after they fielded an ineligible player in Teboho Mokoena, who was suspended for the clash.
Despite this, they still finished a point ahead of Nigeria and Benin in their qualification pool.
South Africa also have Group A games against Czech Republic (June 18) in the U.S. city of Atlanta and South Korea (June 24) in Monterrey back in Mexico.
--------------------------------
Where to watch the FIFA World Cup 2026™
Fans can watch every FIFA World Cup 2026™ match live on DStv Premium, Compact Plus, Compact, Family and Access. All matches are also available to stream on supported packages, ensuring flexible viewing options wherever you are.
How to stream the FIFA World Cup 2026™
With DStv Stream, you can follow every match anytime, anywhere. Download the app and enjoy seamless live streaming on the go.