JOHANNESBURG — South Africa’s World Cup squad will leave for the tournament on Monday after problems with travel visas delayed their departure, the national soccer body said.
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South Africa plays co-host Mexico in the opening game of the World Cup on June 11 in Mexico City. It plays one of its group games in the U.S.
The South African team was due to depart Sunday but had not secured visas for the U.S. for some players and backroom staff members, the sports minister said.
Sports Minister Gayton McKenzie posted on X that the “debacle” over visas was caused by an administrative error by team officials and called it embarrassing. He demanded a report from the South African Football Association.
“We are being made to look like fools,” McKenzie wrote on social media.
The association said Monday that it had now secured visas for all the players, though four staff members still didn’t have visas. They were an assistant coach, the team doctor, the head of security and an analyst, McKenzie said.
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The soccer federation said it hoped their travel documents would be finalized in time for them to also board the charter flight in Johannesburg on Monday. It held an emergency meeting on Sunday night, it said.
The federation apologized for the delay and said it had received help from the South African Foreign Ministry and the U.S. Consulate in Johannesburg to resolve the problems.
South Africa’s team management came under scrutiny in World Cup qualifying after midfielder Teboho Mokoena played in a game against Lesotho despite being suspended. South Africa was stripped of its victory , threatening its hopes of qualifying.
The team overcame that to qualify top of its group by one point.
South Africa will play at the World Cup for the first time since hosting in 2010. It also faces the Czech Republic in Atlanta and South Korea in Monterrey, Mexico, in Group A.
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AP World Cup coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/fifa-world-cup
