South Africa, one of the 48 countries heading for the world cup this summer is in the news again for the wrong reason. The team, which was originally scheduled to depart South Africa on Sunday got stranded at the airport as more than 20 members, including players and officials do not have US visas.
The South African Football Association (SAFA) admitted that the team ‘experienced some difficulties regarding Visas for some players and officials. State broadcaster, SABC described the situation as “an administrative bungle”
This is not the first time South Africa has been caught up in this administrative mishap, as it will be recalled that during the world cup qualifiers, South Africa fielded Teboho Mokoena, who was not eligible to play the match against Lesotho due to the accumulation of yellow cards and were penalised with a 3-point reduction.
Meanwhile, South Africa’s sports minister, Mr. Gayton Mckenzie has demanded and explanation as to what exactly went wrong. He has instructed the SAFA to provide a report and demands that action must be taken against those responsible for this “mess”
“We are being made to look like fools,” he added on X.
However, the spokesperson for the government’s international relations department, Mr. Chrispin Phiri has told TimesLive that, while it was an administrative issue between SAFA and the US consulate, they are trying to assist to have this resolved.
The Bafana Bafana boys are scheduled for a friendly game against Jamaica on Friday in Mexico, before the opening game of the 2026 world cup against co-host Mexico on June 11.
The friendly will test their preparedness for the big stage ahead of the tournament. This will be South Africa’s first time appearance in 16 years, their last appearance coming in 2010 when they hosted the tournament.
With barely 11 days to the starts of the global showpiece, 48 countries across the globe have intensified their preparations for arguably, the biggest sporting event in the world.
The tournament is being co-hosted by the USA, Mexico and Canada. The tournament kicks off from the 11th of June to the 19th of July, 2026.