Bafana Bafana are winning friends in Mexico ahead of the Fifa World Cup kickoff.Videos shared on social media show members of the South African squad lining up to sign autographs and have pictures taken with a lone young Mexican boy who visited the team hotel.🙌 Luchito, jeune mexicain, était le SEUL supporter à venir encourager l’Afrique du Sud dans leur hôtel de Pachuca.🇿🇦❤️ Le sélectionneur Hugo Broos lui a offert un maillot et tous les joueurs l’ont signé avant de partir à l’entraînement ! pic.twitter.com/dzhmEZr4Yb— Fútbol mexicano FR 🇲🇽 (@ligamx_fr) June 4, 2026
Coach Hugo Broos gave the young boy a jersey, which the players signed.Other videos show the team’s second open training session, this time at the 26,000-seat Estadio Hidalgo, nicknamed “El Huracán” (The Hurricane), where a few hundred or perhaps even more than 1,000 local football supporters arrived to watch the session.The stadium is the home ground of topflight Liga MX side Club de Fútbol Pachuca.🇲🇽🇿🇦 La selección de Sudafrica hizo fila para sacarse fotos y firmarle la camiseta al único nene que fue a verlos al hotel.GENIOS pic.twitter.com/TE8C27SytI— 🥊𝕳 BARRAS DEL MUNDO ⚽🍺 (@Barras_LATAM) June 3, 2026
The South Africans are earning a reputation for approachability and friendliness in Mexico.Bafana’s first training session on Wednesday was held on the fields of their training base at based at Universidad del Futbol y Ciencias del Deporte in Pachuca, after their arrival in Mexico City in the early hours of the morning local time.The South Africans meet co-hosts Mexico at Estadio Azteca in Mexico City in the opening game on June 11 (9pm SA time), a rematch of the first fixture when South Africa hosted the 2010 edition.Bafana’s remaining two Group A games are against Czechia (Czech Republic) in Atlanta, Georgia, on June 18 (6pm SA time), and South Korea in Guadalupe, Mexico, on June 24 (3am on June 25 SA time). 🧵Grok Q&A: “🇿🇦 Bafana Bafana Open Training in Mexico — Fans Show Up Strong!” I asked @grok for reaction to the viral video:• Bafana Bafana hold open training session at Estadio Hidalgo in Pachuca • Mexican fans pack the stands to watch the squad train ahead of World Cup…— Zenzeni Sangweni (@Zenzeni_sangwen) June 4, 2026
