South African The national soccer team is already on its way to the 2026 World Cup, but without any prior drama.
'bafana bafana' Leaving for Mexico a day later than planned after getting caught up in a complete bureaucratic mess: He was stopped on Sunday because he did not have the visa needed to stay in the United States.
This unexpected logistical problem prevented the team from taking off on its charter flight and sparked major political anger.
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gayton mackenzieThe country's Sports Minister expressed his anger on social media regarding the situation. “shameful” And heavily criticized the federation for making the players and coaching staff look bad.
crisis meeting on sunday night
To solve the crisis, South African Football Association (SAFA) Called an emergency meeting on Sunday night.
There, he confirmed that the entire squad now has all the paperwork in place, although work is still being done to secure visas for four members of the backroom staff, including the doctor and assistant coach.
Change in plans for head coach
Delay disrupts head coach's plans hugo bruce. Belgian manager wanted the team to stay here pachuca To ensure proper acclimatization to the extreme altitude of the city from June 1 and overcome jet lag before their official start on June 11.
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With the aim of safeguarding the training camp and preventing these organizational failures from occurring again in North America, SAFA has created a fast-track management committee composed of three officials.
In addition, the federation has apologized to the fans and expressed great gratitude to the US Consulate, which worked throughout the weekend to save the team's travel.
This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version here 🇪🇸.