Written by: Badr Ahmed
The delay in issuing entry visas for some players and officials of the South African national team has caused the postponement of the team's departure to Mexico to participate in the 2026 World Cup, less than two weeks before their anticipated opening match against the Mexican national team, in a crisis that has sparked widespread criticism within the country.
Visa scandal threatens South Africa's preparations
The South African national team, known as Bafana Bafana, was scheduled to depart on Sunday morning on a chartered flight to Pachuca, Mexico, which will host the team's training camp, but visa issues prevented the trip from being completed on time.
The crisis has angered South African sports authorities, with Sports Minister Gaiton McKenzie describing what happened as an embarrassing scandal and criticizing his country's football federation for what he considered mismanagement of the matter.
McKenzie said in a post on the X platform that what happened was blatantly unfair to the players and coaching staff, adding that he had requested an urgent report from the federation on the causes of the crisis, stressing the need to hold those responsible for this chaos accountable, which made the country appear unable to manage even the simplest logistical arrangements.
For its part, the South African Football Association confirmed that the travel delay was due to visa problems for some members of the delegation, noting that work is underway around the clock to finalize the procedures and ensure the team's transfer to Mexico as soon as possible.
The federation explained that the team will continue its training in Johannesburg until a new departure date is set, while emphasizing that the technical preparations for the tournament are still proceeding according to the planned program.
Amid the escalating controversy, it was decided to hold an emergency meeting of the federation's board of directors to discuss the crisis and determine responsibilities.
South Africa's participation is of particular importance, as it represents the team's return to the World Cup finals for the first time since the country hosted the tournament in 2010.
The team had overcome several obstacles during the qualifiers, most notably the crisis of including a suspended player that almost cost them the qualification ticket, before they succeeded in securing the top spot in their group by one point over the teams of Nigeria and Benin.
South Africa are scheduled to open their campaign in the tournament against Mexico on June 11, before facing the Czech Republic and South Korea in Group A.
