The South African Football Journalists Association (SAFJA) has voiced its frustration over what it describes as inadequate access for local media to the Bafana Bafana camp during the team's international engagements.
SAFJA chairperson Velile Mnyandu says South African journalists covering the senior national team have been afforded little to no access during Bafana Bafana's activities related to the 2026 FIFA World Cup campaign in Mexico and the United States.
The lack of regular media briefings and opportunities to interact with players and coaching staff has left many journalists frustrated, with limited information available about the team's preparations and progress.
Mnyandu said the situation is unacceptable, particularly for media organisations that invest significant resources to send reporters abroad to cover the national team.
"So this is a popular phenomenon that access to the team, especially to the travelling media, becomes something that is there and also for the media houses to justify why they would spend hundreds of thousands of rands for the journalists to be here. We don't know, we've never really received an exact explanation on why this is happening, but as I say with other camps, it is different," Mnyandu said.
He added that media access to national teams is standard practice internationally and that the current situation raises concerns about transparency and the relationship between the football authorities and the press.