United States, Mexico and Canada Celebrate Bafana Bafana Ahead of FIFA World Cup
Pretoria, South Africa - 13 May 2026
U.S. Ambassador L. Brent Bozell III, Mexican Ambassador Sara Valdés, and Canadian High Commissioner James Christoff co-hosted a reception in honor of South Africa’s national football team, Bafana Bafana, as it prepares for the FIFA World Cup.
The event brought together the South African Football Association, past Bafana Bafana players, South African government officials including Minister of Sports, Arts and Culture Gayton McKenzie, and members of the diplomatic community to celebrate the team’s World Cup participation and to demonstrate trilateral North American international cooperation.
“Sports bring the world together like nothing else, and today proves it,” said Ambassador Bozell. “Three North American missions united here in Pretoria to celebrate South African football. When Bafana Bafana takes the field, millions of citizens from our four countries and beyond will be watching and cheering.”
“On the auspicious occasion of the first-ever FIFA World Cup jointly hosted by our three North American countries, Mexico is particularly pleased that El Tri and Bafana Bafana will once again play in an opening match, as they did in South Africa in 2010,” said Ambassador Valdés.
“While we may be competitors on the field we are, above all, friends and trusted partners beyond the game. Today’s reception is a testament to the strength of our bonds—rooted in cooperation, shared prosperity, and a common belief that, together, we can achieve great things,” said High Commissioner Christoff.
The reception highlighted the strong partnership among the three World Cup co-host nations and underscored the enduring power of sports diplomacy, cultural exchange, and economic cooperation.
US Embassy in Pretoria, South Africa
