South Africa’s flight from Johannesburg’s O.R. Tambo International Airport to Mexico for the opening match of the 2026 FIFA World Cup was scheduled to land on 31 May 2026, in Mexico, but was delayed. This was due to a few embarrassing visa issues that most of the team players encountered.
The South African Football Association (SAFA) and the Sports, Arts and Culture minister, Gayton McKenzie, confirmed the fiasco and noted that the flight was rebooked for Monday morning, 1 June 2026.
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Who on the Bafana Bafana team is still facing visa issues?
At least 20 of the travelling contingents were still having their visas processed by the United States’ embassy, while technical team members had their visas declined.
On X, the outspoken Gayton initially slammed the “embarrassing” saga, saying, “We are being made to look like fools,” but subsequently wrote on the platform last night, “All Bafana Bafana players received their visas to travel to the USA; outstanding are assistant coach, team doctor, head of security, and one analyst. The charter will leave on Monday.”
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
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The visa issue is the latest in a series of administrative problems affecting our Bafana Bafana squad. During the qualifying round, the team had three points deducted in the FIFA World Cup qualifying round because midfielder Teboho Mokoena played against Lesotho in March 2025, despite being suspended at the time due to an accumulation of yellow cards.
The Bafana Bafana players started training at Milpark Stadium yesterday while they waited for a resolution of their devastating visa situation.
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Featured image: Gettys
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