US Responds to Calls for Nation to Be Stripped of World Cup Amid Trump Travel Bans
An official from the US State Department has reportedly spoken out about how Donald Trump’s visa bans may impact fans travelling to the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
The FIFA World Cup, which will be hosted across the US, Canada, and Mexico, is just 145 days away, but there are still widespread concerns among fans about whether the US is fit to host such an event.
Ahead of the tournament, US foreign policy has been a controversial topic, with the US having taken military action in both Venezuela and Nigeria recently, while also suggesting operations could happen in Greenland, Mexico, Colombia, and Iran soon.
This led to 23 UK MPs from four parties – Labour, Liberal Democrats, Green Party, and Plaid Cymru – to sign a motion in parliament calling on international sporting bodies to consider expelling the US from major international competitions, including the World Cup, according to the BBC.
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Some have even suggested that the US should be stripped of the right to co-host the tournament.
This comes after the Trump administration imposed travel restrictions, either blocking or heavily restricting citizens of 12 countries from travelling to the US in June 2025.
Since then, several other nations have been added to the list, including Senegal and the Ivory Coast, who will both compete at this summer’s World Cup.
Haiti and Iran are also on the full restriction ban list, which came into effect on January 1, with both nations’ fans wondering whether they will be allowed to travel to see their respective teams play at the tournament.
Then, on Wednesday (January 14), the Trump administration announced that it has indefinitely suspended immigrant visa processing from 75 countries.
The list includes eight World Cup nations - Brazil, Colombia, Egypt, Ghana, Jordan, Morocco, Tunisia, and Uruguay.
This added to the confusion among hopeful supporters from the aforementioned nations, but a US State Department official has now shed some light on the situation when speaking to the Mirror.
The official insisted that the visa ban will not affect the World Cup, with some fans wondering if they could be turned away at the border.
The official said that the "ban applies to the issuance of immigrant visas only, and does not apply to non-immigrant visas, such as those for tourists, athletes and their families, and media professionals intending to travel for the World Cup".
Why has the Trump administration paused immigrant visa processing?
Shortly after the move was announced, Tommy Pigott, Principal Deputy spokesperson for the US State Department, explained that the reason for the visa freeze was to "prevent the entry of foreign nationals who would take welfare and public benefits”.
The US State Department had earlier stated that the decision was to bring "an end to the abuse" of the system “by those who would extract wealth from the American people" via benefits paid by US taxpayers. The freeze will be enforced from January 21.
Full list of nations impacted by US visa freeze
Afghanistan
Albania
Algeria
Antigua and Barbuda
Armenia
Azerbaijan
Bahamas
Bangladesh
Barbados
Belarus
Belize
Bhutan
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Brazil
Myanmar
Cambodia
Cameroon
Cape Verde
Colombia
Côte d’Ivoire
Cuba
Democratic Republic of the Congo
Dominica
Egypt
Eritrea
Ethiopia
Fiji
The Gambia
Georgia
Ghana
Grenada
Guatemala
Guinea
Haiti
Iran
Iraq
Jamaica
Jordan
Kazakhstan
Kosovo
Kuwait
Kyrgyzstan
Laos
Lebanon
Liberia
Libya
North Macedonia
Moldova
Mongolia
Montenegro
Morocco
Nepal
Nicaragua
Nigeria
Pakistan
Republic of the Congo
Russia
Rwanda
St Kitts and Nevis
St Lucia
St Vincent and the Grenadines
Senegal
Sierra Leone
Somalia
South Sudan
Sudan
Syria
Tanzania
Thailand
Togo
Tunisia
Uganda
Uruguay
Uzbekistan
Yemen
Topics: Donald Trump, FIFA, Football
Luke Davies