Bafana Bafana fan Botha Msila hits pitfall in hitch-hike to AFCON

Bafana Bafana superfan Botha Msila has encountered a slight pitfall in his hitch-hike to Egypt to back his team at the Africa Cup of Nations.

Msila, better known as Bloemfontein Celtic's supporter always sporting a white shower cap or hair net, has ventured on a journey of over 10 000 kilometeres from Cape Town to Cairo to show his support for the national team at this year's AFCON.

Having kicked off his hike dubbed 'CapeToCairo' in the Mother City on June 6, travelling north towards his destination, he has regularly provided updates of his location on Twitter.

In Zimbabwe, he met up with Alvin Zhakata, who has joined him on the road, but they have both hit a snag in their journey at the border of Ethiopia - some 6 500km into his journey.

At the Moyale Border Control, they have been denied entry into Ethiopia at the request of Visas.

Msila has since revealed that a fee of $50 (R750) has been set for passage through the border post, or alternatively go back and apply for a valid visa.

"We are now at the border of Kenya into Ethiopia, now they are refusing us entry because they say we must have [a] Visa. We never knew about Visas for these countries, so we are so surprised that we now have to be stuck here," said the 44-year-old in an update posted at 10h00 on Thursday.

"They are asking us to pay 50 US dollars, for us to get a Visa to Ethiopia. But they say we must go back to the border of Kenya and maybe apply for a Visa to pass through Ethiopia.

"So, we're going to check and ask if we can maybe get help to be able to pass through Ethiopia. So, that's the only challenge now. We arrived early, but the problem is we are now stuck here at the border."

Despite the setback, Msila is confident they will overcome the challenge.

"It's challenging, but possibly we'll make it and manage to cross into Ethiopia. That's the only challenge now."

From Ethiopia, the pair will need to pass through Sudan before reaching the Egyptian border.

The tournament is scheduled to kick off on Friday, June 21, with South Africa opening their Group D campaign in Cairo against Ivory Coast on June 24.