South Africa soccer body says World Cup squad will depart Monday after visa delay

JOHANNESBURG (AP) — 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.

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.

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.

AP World Cup coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/fifa-world-cup

FILE - South Africa players pose for a team photo before the Africa Cup of Nations group B soccer match between Angola and South Africa in Marrakech, Morocco, Monday, Dec. 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe, File)

FILE - South Africa players celebrate their side's third goal during a World Cup 2026 group C qualifying soccer match between South Africa and Rwanda at Mbombela Stadium, in Nelspruit, South Africa, Oct. 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe, File)

FILE - South Africa players celebrate after a World Cup 2026 group C qualifying soccer match between South Africa and Rwanda at Mbombela Stadium, in Nelspruit, South Africa, Oct. 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe, File)

FILE - South Africa's Oswin Appollis celebrates after scoring his side's second goal during a World Cup 2026 group C qualifying soccer match between South Africa and Rwanda at Mbombela Stadium, in Nelspruit, South Africa, Oct. 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Alfonso Nqunjana, File)

LONDON (AP) — His poll ratings are dismal and rivals are eyeing his job. Now British Prime Minister Keir Starmer faces more embarrassment on Monday with the publication of hundreds of pages of files about former U.K. ambassador to Washington Peter Mandelson, a friend of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

The government is expected to comply with a demand by lawmakers to release documents related to Mandelson’s appointment to, and conduct in, the U.K.’s most important diplomatic post.

Mandelson was fired after nine months, and fallout from the misjudged appointment has left Starmer fighting for his job.

A first trove of files published in March revealed ministers had been warned that Mandelson’s friendship with Epstein exposed the government to “reputational risk.”

It later was disclosed that Mandelson had been approved for the ambassador’s job despite failing security checks, a revelation that sparked bitter blame-trading between Starmer and senior civil servants who oversaw the security vetting.

The files being released Monday could run to more than 1,000 pages and are expected to include emails and text messages between Mandelson and government ministers and advisers.

Police have asked for some documents to be withheld because they form part of a criminal investigation into Mandelson for alleged misconduct in public office. Mandelson, 72, was briefly arrested in February by detectives investigating allegations he passed sensitive government information to Epstein when he was a minister in the British government a decade and a half ago.

He has been released without bail conditions as the police investigation continues.

Health Secretary James Murray said Monday that the release marked an “unprecedented” level of transparency from the government

“It’s right we do that. We have been very clear that the appointment of Mandelson was wrong,” he told Sky News.

Conservative lawmaker Alex Burghart said any attempt to withhold or redact more documents than those requested by police “will be viewed by the House as a contempt of Parliament, and as a cover-up by the British public.”

Starmer fired Mandelson in September 2025 after an earlier release of documents showed he had maintained contact with Epstein after the financier’s 2008 conviction for sexual offenses involving a minor.

Critics say Starmer’s decision to appoint Mandelson is evidence of bad judgment by a prime minister who has made repeated missteps since he led the center-left Labour Party to a landslide election victory in July 2024.

Details about Mandelson’s ties to Epstein, revealed in a huge trove of files published by the U.S. Department of Justice in January, raised new questions about Starmer’s judgment, driving opponents and some Labour lawmakers to call for the prime minister’s resignation.

Those calls intensified after Labour suffered big losses in local elections in May. A senior Cabinet minister, Wes Streeting, resigned with the intention of challenging Starmer for the Labour leadership. Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham is running for a seat in Parliament in a June 18 special election, and also is expected to challenge Starmer if he wins.

Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer visits a children's activity centre in Essex, England, Thursday, May 21, 2026 to support families and help ease pressures on household budgets.(AP Photo/Kin Cheung, Pool)

Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer looks on during a visit to Acorn Nursery, in Brighton, England, Tuesday May 26, 2026. (Gareth Fuller/Pool Photo via AP)