South Africa's World Cup Delegation Departs for Mexico Without Coach

South Africa's national football team, Bafana Bafana, finally departed for their World Cup training camp in Pachuca, Mexico, following a significant delay attributed to administrative issues with visa applications. The team was originally slated to leave on Sunday but was held back by a "frantic 24 hours" as they scrambled to secure necessary travel documents.

The charter flight from Johannesburg on Monday did not include assistant coach Helman Mkhalele, a former international player, who is still awaiting his U.S. visa. SAFA president Danny Jordaan expressed frustration with the U.S. Consulate General in Johannesburg, stating that the visa was denied without clear reasons, leaving the association "clutching in the dark."

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They refused the visa, but gave no reasons. It is very difficult to deal with the process where you get no information.

Despite the stressful start, head coach Hugo Broos expressed relief that the team could now focus on the upcoming tournament. "Now we are very happy that we can go to Mexico," Broos said. "The past days have been a little bit stressful with all the problems we had, but those problems are behind us now, and we can focus on what’s coming."

South Africa, appearing in their fourth World Cup, faces a challenging Group A alongside host nation Mexico, Czechia, and South Korea. The team's primary objective is to advance from the group stage for the first time in their history. They are scheduled to play a friendly against Jamaica before their opening match against Mexico on June 11.

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Now we are very happy that we can go to Mexico. The past days have been a little bit stressful with all the problems we had, but those problems are behind us now, and we can focus on what’s coming.