In a recent announcement, the U.S. State Department justified a travel ban aimed at nationals from over a dozen countries, stating that addressing security concerns is essential when hosting large-scale events like the FIFA World Cup and the Olympic Games.
During a press briefing on Thursday, Principal Deputy Spokesperson Tommy Pigott faced questions from journalists concerning the full bans imposed on citizens from Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, the Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen. Instead of a total prohibition, partial restrictions apply to nationals from Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan, and Venezuela.
Although President Trump’s executive order signed on Wednesday includes exemptions for athletes, support staff, and immediate relatives of athletes or teams, it does not extend these assurances to fans.
With Iran already qualified for the men’s World Cup in 2026—co-hosted by the U.S., Canada, and Mexico—the implications of this travel ban are significant for teams like Venezuela, Haiti, Cuba, and Libya, who have varying degrees of probability of qualifying.
Tensions rose when Haiti’s participation in this summer’s Concacaf Gold Cup was initially called into question by the executive order. However, as the order contains a specific exemption for the World Cup and the Olympics, other events will be assessed to see if they qualify as sufficiently
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