He specializes in crises…the reason for the AU national team scandal before the opening of the World Cup

The South African team has been hit by a major visa crisis which led to the postponement of its visit to Mexico on Sunday due to an administrative error by the local football federation.

According to an official statement released by the South African federation, the team “has encountered visa challenges for some players and officials”, which prevented it from leaving for a special trip scheduled for this morning to Pachuca, Mexico.

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According to South African reports, national team director Vincent Tsika is largely responsible for the delay, as the submission of visa applications has been significantly delayed, resulting in more than 20 players and officials not receiving Mexican visas so far.

This is not Tsika’s first administrative error, as he previously came under fire in 2025 for another administrative error involving the suspension cards of player Teboho Mokoena, which cost the team points and a financial penalty from FIFA.

For his part, South Africa’s Minister of Sports, Arts and Culture Gayton Mackenzie described the situation as “deeply embarrassing and unfair to the players and technical staff”, calling on the federation to report immediately and take action against those responsible for this “administrative failure”.

The South African federation is currently holding emergency meetings in an attempt to resolve the crisis as quickly as possible, while the national team continues to train inside South Africa while awaiting visas.