South Africa’s sports minister has said his nation was “being made to look like fools” after its football team was delayed travelling to Mexico ahead of the World Cup due to visa issues.
Gayton McKenzie demanded an explanation from South Africa’s football association (Safa) as to why this had happened, adding: “Action must be taken against those responsible for this mess.”
Safa admitted the team had “experienced challenges regarding visas for some players and officials” but did not give further details.
McKenzie later confirmed all the players had received permission to travel and would be leaving for the international tournament on Monday.
National broadcaster SABC described what happened as an “administrative bungle”.
The team, nicknamed Bafana Bafana, are due to face Jamaica in a friendly in Mexico on Friday.
They will then play in the World Cup opening match against Mexico, which is co-hosting the competition alongside the US and Canada, on 11 June.
“This Safa travel & visa debacle is embarrassing & grossly unfair towards the players & coaching staff,” McKenzie had written on X earlier on Sunday.
Shortly after the minister’s comments, a brief statement from Safa said it was “working around the clock to ensure that the team travels to Mexico City as soon as possible ahead of the opening match”.
Efforts were made on Sunday to get the team US visas, according to South African news site TimesLive.
The Bafana Bafana squad and staff need permission to enter the US as they play their second World Cup game against the Czech Republic in Atlanta, in the US state of Georgia.
The government’s international relations department was also involved.
It seems that the efforts paid off, with McKenzie saying on Sunday evening that a chartered flight would be leaving on Monday with all the players onboard.
However visas had not yet been secured for the “assistant coach, team doctor, head of security and one analyst”, he said.
South Africa is one of 10 African nations taking part in the expanded 48-team World Cup.
The game against Jamaica will be Bafana Bafana’s last chance to get ready for the tournament, which they last appeared at when South Africa hosted the finals in 2010.
Their final home match on Friday – a 0-0 draw against Nicaragua that included a missed South African penalty – was described in some reports as “disappointing” and extended their winless run to four games.
