SAFA Visa Blunder Will Likely Impact Bafana's FIFA World Cup Campaign, Warns William Shongwe

Former Kaizer Chiefs goalkeeper William Shongwe says it is a shame that the SAFA Visa saga transpired on Sunday, and demands accountability from those responsible. 

Shongwe believes the Visa blunder will affect Bafana's chances in the upcoming 2026 FIFA World Cup. 

"It's a Shame"

South Africa's travel to Mexico City was delayed by a day due to an administrative issue, which saw the majority of the players and staff unable to travel as their Visas were not finalised. 

This was not the first time an admin issue has affected the team, as Bafana found themselves docked three points for fielding an ineligible player, Teboho Mokoena, during the World Cup Qualifiers. 

However, in both cases, no one has accounted for it. Former Kaizer Chiefs goalkeeper says incompetence at SAFA is almost normal behaviour. 

"It's very normal, and nobody takes responsibility. It's a norm; people are chilling; it's like the football association is other people's home. People continue to make these mistakes, and they are not taking into account the failures," Shongwe told SportsBoom.co.za in an exclusive interview. 

"These mistakes shouldn't be happening at an association of that level. I'm so disappointed. Surely somebody must take responsibility, somebody must take the fall for it, without a doubt."

The Impact

SAFA held an emergency committee meeting on Sunday night and announced their decision on Monday morning, which did not hold any employee accountable. 

Instead, SAFA announced that they have established a three-member organising committee comprising Team manager Vincent Tseka, Head of Delegation David Molwantwa and Chairperson of the Finance Committee Mxolisi Subam, to strengthen operational coordination during the showpiece event. 

Bafana are set to play the tournament opener in less than two weeks against co-hosts Mexico. Shongwe believes the delay will likely have an impact on the team, especially when it comes to acclimatising. 

"Football at this level is very scientific. Football has gone from our times, whereby it was by chance. There is acclimatisation, there are all kinds of preparations that get put into preparing a team going into a tournament like this. Acclimatisation is a massive factor, and that is definitely going to put off the coach's plans," he said. 

"With the tournament just a few weeks away, you cannot afford to miss a single hour. You need to be putting your plans in place. If you miss those steps, everything thereafter becomes a chance, and you can't afford that." 

"You'll be murdered at this level of football by other countries that are better prepared. This is why clubs fail in a league, because they don't plan from the beginning of the year. They change; they start with a coach who has prepared the team this way, and then, four months down the line, they bring a coach who comes with a different philosophy that doesn't suit what the preseason was all about." 

"Big bosses make these kinds of mistakes because they are not at that level of understanding what football entails. I think this is what is happening; this is why having people who are not football-related, who got there by some chance, or by mere profile that they bring, but not football understanding." 

"SAFA themselves, this thing has taken them by surprise, as if they didn't know that they were heading to the World Cup, and such that they have got to make last-minute arrangements to try and accommodate a situation that they knew already three or four months back, that it was coming. (SAFA) is in shambles, basically."

For further insight into Bafana Bafana's World Cup preparations, former South Africa international Aaron Mokoena recently defended Hugo Broos' decision to select 11 defenders in his 26-man squad despite criticism from supporters and pundits.

The Nicaragua Friendly

Bafana Bafana played a send-off fixture against Nicaragua at Orlando Stadium last Friday, where they drew the match 0-0 despite dominating the game from start to finish. 

Despite the goalless draw, Shongwe believes that the game served its purpose, which is to set momentum for the squad. 

"We needed something that would boost our spirits, a little bit of a mental boost. Against Panama, we were dented a bit. We needed something to prepare the mindsets of the players," he said.  

"When you play some friendlies, you're going to get those tough ones, but closer to the tournament, you want a mental boost. It's not like full preparation; you're just tweaking the team here and there. You want to see the flow, so you want a team that will allow you to play, to flow in the direction that you want to be in." 

"So, this one was good for that. When you are close to a tournament like this, you need to build the team, the belief in the players, so to me, it was perfect; we needed that."