Legend Doctor Khumalo shared a nightmare airport tale after Bafana Bafana encountered issues on their way to Nigeria.
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The story
Bafana Bafana and Kaizer Chiefs legend Doctor Khumalo shared a tale that sums up the difficulties of teams travelling through the continent, whether it's at club or national team level.
On 10bet South Africa's "The DNA Podcast", hosted by Andile Ncube and Doctor, the duo spoke about Bafana's delayed travels to Nigeria, prompting the legend to share his own story of travelling Africa with Bafana.
During his days as a Bafana midfield maestro, Doctor mentioned how they once had to get a connect flight to Ivory Coast before making their way to Nigeria and how they found themselves stranded at an Ivorian airport:
"You know, it actually reminds me of the first game we played in Nigeria. What happened is that we flew from South Africa with SAA and we landed in Ivory Coast because SAA was not allowed to land in Nigeria. We landed at 2 am and we spend plus eight hours at the airport, where they dispatch your luggage? That's where we had our rest. We were wearing our suits and the airport was locked," shared Doctor on the 10bet episode, adding:
"What kind of airport gets locked? We were told in Ivory Coast that the airport is locked, the person who has the key is not around, he's in the club!"
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Watch the snippet of their podcast here:
Bafana Bafana's preparations for tonight's all-important FIFA World Cup qualifier against the Super Eagles have been heavily impacted by some unforeseen travel delays.
The men's national team had to endure one of their longest trips to Nigeria, spanning more than 30 hours until eventually arriving at their hotel on Thursday morning.
Bafana had departed from the OR Tambo International Airport early on Wednesday, accompanied by super fan Mama Joy Chauke.
Originally scheduled to land in Uyo, Nigeria, later that evening, their plans were disrupted due to a delayed departure from South Africa.
Consequently, the squad arrived at Port Harcourt International Airport late on Wednesday. This unexpected stop in Port Harcourt was necessary for completing immigration procedures before their final flight to Uyo, where tonight's match is scheduled.
However, their chartered jet was unable to proceed as planned since the airport in Uyo had closed for the night. As a result, the team had to check into a hotel for the evening.
Hugo Broos' charges arrived in Uyo, Nigeria, just after 11:00 SA time on Thursday morning.
Flight delayed, but we're on our way, Nigeria bound. #BafanaPride #WCQualifiers ?? pic.twitter.com/g3m8DTquSc
— Bafana Bafana (@BafanaBafana) June 5, 2024
Bafana Bafana have been on the road for 18 hours and still not at base in Nigeria. The team is currently at Port Harcourt Airport where they cleared customs, awaiting transfer to the hotel, to spend the night. Uyo airport had closed by the time the team was scheduled to take off.… pic.twitter.com/nlJtpLLqsi
— Bafana Bafana (@BafanaBafana) June 5, 2024
Bafana Bafana have finally arrived at their base in Uyo, Nigeria ???? #BafanaPride #WCQualifiers ????
— Bafana Bafana (@BafanaBafana) June 6, 2024
MD-1 training done and dusted! All eyes on the game tomorrow! #BafanaPride #WCQualifiers pic.twitter.com/mgUbWoHXZA
— Bafana Bafana (@BafanaBafana) June 6, 2024
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