World Cup fans banned from US travel may be unable to root for teams in person
With the World Cup games coming to the U.S. in less than five months, some fans may have to miss out due to travel bans.
President Donald Trump issued a slew of full or partial travel bans to over 30 countries, with four participating in the games, with exemptions available for players and team personnel.
Fans from Iran, Haiti, Côte d’Ivoire (Ivory Coast) and Senegal may be unable to travel to the U.S. to cheer on their teams.
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The U.S. is set to co-host the tournament with Canada and Mexico from June 11 to July 19.
Senegal fan Djibril Gueye told The Associated Press that in his view, if the U.S. is barring certain visitors, then the country "shouldn’t agree to host the World Cup."
"It’s up to the United States to provide the conditions, the means and the resources to allow the qualified countries, so everyone can go and support their team," Gueye said.
Another Senegal fan, Sheikh Sy, told the AP that he went to the last World Cup in Qatar and is determined to find a way to go to the 2026 games.
"We’ve traveled everywhere with our team because we are the national fans of Senegal," he said, as AP reported. "So, since Senegal has qualified for the World Cup, we absolutely have to go."
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The Senegal national team is set to have its first match against France on June 16.
Fatou Diedhiou, president of a group of female Senegal fans, said she is just waiting.
"The World Cup isn’t here yet; maybe they’ll change their minds. We don’t know. We [will] wait and see."
There were over 3.4 million spectators at the previous 2022 World Cup hosted by Qatar, according to FIFA.
Players and coaches are also a bit concerned that fans will not be able to cheer them on, according to the AP's reporting. Team coach Emerse Faé told the outlet it would be a "shame" to deny supporters.
He's hopeful a deal can be reached, however — citing a flashback to Ivory Coast fans facing a similar issue for the Africa Cup in Morocco.
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"In the end, everything went very smoothly, and they were able to come as long as they had tickets to see the matches. I think things will be sorted out by the time of the World Cup," Faé said.
The Ivory Coast national team is slated to play its first match on June 14 against Ecuador.
Haiti is set up for its debut on June 13 against Scotland — with Iran facing off against New Zealand on June 15.
In November, President Trump announced a "FIFA Pass" visa system that will prioritize appointment scheduling for soccer fans, as Fox News Digital previously reported.
"I’ve directed my administration to do everything within [its] power to make the 2026 World Cup an unprecedented success. I think it’s going to be the greatest, and we are setting records on ticket sales," Trump said at the time.
"With this FIFA Pass, we can make sure that those who buy a ticket, [who] are legitimate football fans or soccer fans… [that] they can come and attend the World Cup in the best conditions — starting from getting their visa and then coming, of course, in the country to enjoy," FIFA President Gianni Infantino added.
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Over 400 additional consular officers have been deployed to embassies around the world to handle World Cup-related visa requests.
Fox News Digital's Scott Thompson, as well The Associated Press, contributed reporting.