The South African Football Association (SAFA) has confirmed that Bafana Bafana will be based in Pachuca, Mexico, for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

Bafana Bafana will train at the Universidad del Futbol and stay at the Camino Real Pachuca hotel, located just outside Pachuca.

Mexico City’s Estadio Azteca is scheduled to stage the tournament’s opening match, Mexico vs. South Africa, on June 11.

Mexico is under the spotlight after the city of Guadalajara erupted with cartel violence last weekend, alongside other parts of Mexico, after a notorious drug lord, Nemesio “El Mencho” Oseguera, leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, was killed in an army raid, as reported by Al Jazeera.

Authorities are turning to technology to keep their slice of the planet’s premier sporting event safe, as Mexico is co-hosting the tournament with the United States and Canada.

“Drones, anti-drone equipment and AI-driven video surveillance systems are some of the tools the government of Jalisco state, of which Guadalajara is the capital, will deploy to provide security,” said Al Jazeera.

The distance between Pachuca, Bafana’s base and Guadalajara is approximately 530 km.

Despite the violence in Guadalajara, FIFA president Gianni Infantino said this week that he has been in constant contact with Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum, and Infantino is confident the World Cup will be incident-free.

“We monitor the situation, we look at the situation, and things happen in the world,” said Infantino.

“We don’t live on the moon; we live in the world. And when things happen, we have to trust the situation, authorities, the state, the police. We have to trust them with all our confidence and support Mexico, support a country that has suffered, that deserves the World Cup to be a party. And it will be a party.”