South Africa’s departure for the 2026 FIFA World Cup has been postponed because of delays in obtaining Mexican visas for several players and officials, according to the South African Football Association (SAFA).
The national team, known as Bafana Bafana, had been scheduled to fly from Johannesburg to Mexico City on a chartered flight on Sunday morning. However, the trip could not proceed after some members of the delegation had not yet received visas for Mexico, one of the tournament’s co-hosts.
“The South African senior men’s national team has experienced challenges regarding visas for some players and officials, and as a result the group could not travel to North America this morning as originally planned,” SAFA said in a media release.
South Africa are set to face Mexico in the opening match of the World Cup at Estadio Azteca on June 11.
“SAFA is working around the clock to ensure that the team travels to Mexico City as soon as possible ahead of the opening match,” it said.
“We remain committed to ensuring that the team’s preparations for the tournament remain on track and, in the meantime, Bafana Bafana will continue to train in Johannesburg until departure.”
The team received a celebratory public farewell in Johannesburg on Saturday ahead of their first World Cup appearance since they hosted the tournament in 2010. Despite the event, their planned flight from OR Tambo International Airport to Mexico City was later delayed.
SAFA announced that an emergency committee meeting would be held on Sunday to address the matter. The delay drew sharp criticism from Sports Minister Gayton McKenzie, who described the situation as “embarrassing and grossly unfair”.
“We are being made to look like fools,” McKenzie said on social media platform X.
Before the World Cup begins, South Africa will play a friendly match against Jamaica on June 5. Following their opener against Mexico, they will face Czechia on June 18 and South Korea on June 24 in the group stage.
Head coach Hugo Broos named his 26-player squad on Wednesday, including two players who have yet to earn an international cap.
The visa issue also sparked debate online, with some social media users questioning why the team held a public sendoff if officials already knew that certain players had not received their visas.
South Africa are not the only nation facing travel-document complications ahead of the tournament. Iran’s World Cup squad is also awaiting visas for the United States, where the team will play New Zealand on June 15 before competing in two additional group-stage matches.
Iranian state media reported on Saturday that FIFA had informed Football Federation Islamic Republic of Iran (FFIRI) vice president Mahdi Mohammadnabi that visa processing was ongoing and that the documents were expected to be issued during the week.
FFIRI president Mehdi Taj said on Wednesday that he anticipated the United States would grant multiple-entry visas to the Iranian delegation because the team will travel in and out of the country during the competition.
Last week, Iran moved its World Cup base camp from Arizona in the United States to Mexico.
Source: Al Jazeera