Sports, Arts and Culture Minister Gayton McKenzie has once again earned praise from South African football fans after announcing that the six players who narrowly missed out on **South Africa national football team’s final 2026 FIFA World Cup squad will travel to Mexico to support the team.
The six players — Brandon Petersen, Patrick Maswanganyi, Thabiso Monyane, Thapelo Morena, Lebohang Maboe and Brooklyn Poggenpoel — will attend South Africa’s opening Group A clash against co-hosts Mexico at the iconic Estadio Azteca on 11 June.
McKenzie said the players had trained and sacrificed alongside the rest of the squad and deserved to be part of the World Cup experience despite missing the final cut.
“These six men trained, sacrificed and prepared with the same dedication as every player in that squad. They were part of this journey,” McKenzie said.
He explained that the initiative was aimed at ensuring the players remain part of South Africa’s historic World Cup campaign.
The minister acknowledged that head coach Hugo Broos had faced difficult selection decisions, describing them as the unavoidable reality of elite sport.
“But such choices should not be the last word on what these six men mean to Bafana Bafana and to this country. They remain part of the family,” he said.
The trip will be fully funded by Old School, which has partnered with the ministry to cover travel and accommodation costs for all six players.
McKenzie praised the company for immediately supporting the initiative, saying it reflected the spirit of South African sport.
South Africa is set to face Mexico, the Czech Republic and South Korea in Group A as the country makes its first FIFA World Cup appearance since hosting the tournament in 2010.
