Will Trump바카라�s Travel Ban Impact World Cup, Olympics Games In USA?

U.S. President Donald Trump often says the 2026 World Cup and 2028 Los Angeles Olympics are among the events he is most excited about in his second term.

Yet there is significant uncertainty regarding visa policies for foreign visitors planning trips to the U.S. for the two biggest events in sports.

Trump바카라�s latest travel ban on citizens from 12 countries added new questions about the impact on the World Cup and the Summer Olympics, which depend on hosts opening their doors to the world.

Here바카라�s a look at the potential effects of the travel ban on those events.

What is the travel ban policy?

When Sunday ticks over to Monday, citizens of 12 countries should be banned from entering the U.S.

They are Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, the Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen.

Tighter restrictions will apply to visitors from seven more: Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan and Venezuela.

Trump said some countries had 바카라�deficient바카라� screening and vetting processes or have historically refused to take back their own citizens.

How does it affect the World Cup and Olympics?

Iran, a soccer power in Asia, is the only targeted country to qualify so far for the World Cup being co-hosted by the U.S., Canada and Mexico in one year바카라�s time.

Cuba, Haiti and Sudan are in contention. Sierra Leone might stay involved through multiple playoff games. Burundi, Equatorial Guinea and Libya have very outside shots.

But all should be able to send teams to the World Cup if they qualify because the new policy makes exceptions for 바카라�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.바카라�

About 200 countries could send athletes to the Summer Games, including those targeted by the latest travel restrictions. The exceptions should apply to them as well if the ban is still in place in its current form.

What about fans?

The travel ban doesn바카라�t mention any exceptions for fans from the targeted countries wishing to travel to the U.S. for the World Cup or Olympics.

Even before the travel ban, fans of the Iran soccer team living in that country already had issues about getting a visa for a World Cup visit.

Still, national team supporters often profile differently to fans of club teams who go abroad for games in international competitions like the UEFA Champions League.

For many countries, fans traveling to the World Cup 바카라� an expensive travel plan with hiked flight and hotel prices 바카라� are often from the diaspora, wealthier, and could have different passport options.

A World Cup visitor is broadly higher-spending and lower-risk for host nation security planning.

Visitors to an Olympics are often even higher-end clients, though tourism for a Summer Games is significantly less than at a World Cup, with fewer still from most of the 19 countries now targeted.

How is the U.S. working with FIFA, Olympic officials?

FIFA President Gianni Infantino has publicly built close ties since 2018 to Trump 바카라� too close according to some. He has cited the need to ensure FIFA바카라�s smooth operations at a tournament that will earn a big majority of the soccer body바카라�s expected $13 billion revenue from 2023-26.

Infantino sat next to Trump at the White House task force meeting on May 6 which prominently included Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem. FIFA바카라�s top delegate on the task force is Infantino ally Carlos Cordeiro, a former Goldman Sachs partner whose two-year run as U.S. Soccer Federation president ended in controversy in 2020.

Any visa and security issues FIFA faces 바카라� including at the 32-team Club World Cup that kicks off next week in Miami 바카라� can help LA Olympics organizers finesse their plans.

바카라�It was very clear in the directive that the Olympics require special consideration and I actually want to thank the federal government for recognizing that," LA28 chairman and president Casey Wasserman said Thursday in Los Angeles.

바카라�It바카라�s very clear that the federal government understands that that바카라�s an environment that they will be accommodating and provide for,바카라� he said. 바카라�We have great confidence that that will only continue. It has been the case to date and it will certainly be the case going forward through the games.바카라�

In March, at an IOC meeting in Greece, Wasserman said he had two discreet meetings with Trump and noted the State Department has a "fully staffed desk바카라� to help prepare for short-notice visa processing in the summer of 2028 바카라� albeit with a focus on teams rather than fans.

IOC member Nicole Hoevertsz, who is chair of the Coordination Commission for LA28, expressed 바카라�every confidence바카라� that the U.S. government will cooperate, as it did in hosting previous Olympics.

바카라�That is something that we will be definitely looking at and making sure that it is guaranteed as well,바카라� she said. 바카라�We are very confident that this is going to be accomplished. I바카라�m sure this is going to be executed well."

FIFA didn바카라�t immediately respond to a request for comment about the new Trump travel ban.

What have other host nations done?

The 2018 World Cup host Russia let fans enter the country with a game ticket doubling as their visa. So did Qatar four years later.

Both governments, however, also performed background checks on all visitors coming to the month-long soccer tournaments.

Governments have refused entry to unwelcome visitors. For the 2012 London Olympics, Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko 바카라� who is still its authoritarian leader today 바카라� was denied a visa despite also leading its national Olympic body. The IOC also suspended him from the Tokyo Olympics held in 2021.