Donald Trump’s travel ban, which forbids citizens of a dozen countries from entering the US, threatens to wreak havoc on the 2026 World Cup.
Given that the majority of matches will be played in the United States, as well as Canada and Mexico, this could prove quite a problem for people from nations on the list.
The preparations for next year’s World Cup are already in full swing, but a host of football fans don’t yet know whether they’re coming or going.
So, let’s take a look at what on earth is going on here – and what could happen between now and June next year.
Who is affected by Trump’s travel ban?
Back in June, the US President announced that he would introduce ‘common sense restrictions’ on travel to the US that would ‘protect Americans from dangerous foreign actors’.
In a bid to stop an influx of foreign nationals who had not been ‘properly vetted’ from entering the country, he explained that citizens of 12 nations would no longer be allowed in.
The travel ban impacts people from the following countries:
- Afghanistan
- Myanmar
- Chad
- Congo-Brazzaville
- Equatorial Guinea
- Eritrea
- Haiti
- Iran
- Libya
- Somalia
- Sudan
- Yemen
As well as this, partial travel restrictions were also imposed on travellers from Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan and Venezuela.
What will happen to countries that qualified for the 2026 World Cup?
Out of these 19 nations, two of them have qualified for the 2026 World Cup – but fans of the teams might not be able to watch them compete in person.
For the seventh time ever, Iran has earned itself a spot in the coveted tournament after topping their group with 23 points. Haiti, which is also subject to Trump’s travel ban, also sealed their second World Cup qualification after a 51-year drought.
Although this should be a celebratory time for both countries, supporters aren’t too chuffed, as it appears those who want to cheer on their players in person might be unable to.
The sports stars who will be competing on the pitch are set to be permitted entry, though, thanks to an exemption.
It states that ‘any athlete or member of an athletic team, including coaches, persons performing a necessary support role, and immediate relatives, traveling for the World Cup, Olympics, or other major sporting event as determined by the Secretary of State’ are allowed in – but this doesn’t apply to fans.
However, FIFA president Gianni Infantino previously said that the US will ‘welcome the world’ when the World Cup kicks off.
“Everyone who wants to come here to enjoy, to have fun and to celebrate the game will be able to do that,” he said – but as it stands, fans from countries on the list don’t have a way into the US.
What happened during the previous travel ban?
Although Iran and Haiti’s players are protected from the travel ban under the exemption, this hasn’t always been the case while Trump has been in office.
During his first term in 2017, people from Chad, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Syria and Yemen were forbidden from entering the US – but thankfully, there wasn’t a global sporting event taking place there at the time.
However, the president’s power to veto the entrance of certain citizens was wielded that year. Members of the Tibetan women’s football team were refused visas to attend the 2017 Dallas Cup in Texas, with the captain explaining it was because they ‘don’t have strong reasons’ to go there, The Guardian reported.
Despite being invited by the organisers and told they could stay with local players, the team were forced to pull out.
Two years later, at least nine young lads who were part of the Guatemalan under-15 football team were also denied visas, according to the country’s football federation.
Although they had ‘all the documents required to support their applications’, they were still rejected from entering the country, where they had intended to compete in the Concacaf Championship in Florida.
Cuba’s captain, Yordan Santa Cruz, had his visa denied entry to the US in the same year, meaning he was unable to participate in the CONCACAF Gold Cup.
Before the United States was confirmed as one of the hosts of the 2026 World Cup, the president of FIFA had warned Trump that his travel bans could hinder his country’s bid for it.
Infantino said in 2017, as per the BBC: “It’s obvious when it comes to Fifa competitions, any team, including the supporters and officials of that team, who qualify for a World Cup need to have access to the country, otherwise there is no World Cup. The requirements will be clear.”