A well-respected journalist has claimed that eight nations should “pause participation” in the 2026 World Cup after US President Donald Trump announced plans to impose fresh tariffs on eight European allies opposed to his proposed takeover of Greenland.
Ahead of the 2026 World Cup, it’s fair to say Trump is causing controversy, which could impact fans’ hopes of attending the tournament as well as the respective governments of the nations set to compete.
In June of 2025, the Trump administration announced full and partial travel bans on citizens of a combined 19 nations to protect “the United States from foreign terrorists and other national security and public safety threats”.
Several countries have since been added to the list, with World Cup participants Haiti and Iran currently under full restrictions, with Ivory Coast and Senegal under partial restrictions.
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Since then, the Trump administration has announced an indefinite visa freeze on people from 75 countries, which would take effect on January 21.
The list includes World Cup participants such as Brazil, Colombia, and Egypt.
This led to fears from some fans that they could be turned away at the US border ahead of sporting events such as the 2026 World Cup and 2028 LA Olympics.
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A US State Department official, who spoke to the Mirror, has since insisted 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".
However, sponsors and supporters will likely still be impacted by the visa freeze.
There have also been calls for the US to be stripped of the right to host the tournament due to the Trump administration’s foreign policy, with the US taking military action in Venezuela and Nigeria, while also threatening action against Greenland, Mexico, Colombia, and Iran in recent weeks.
Trump has claimed that the US also “needs Greenland,” which is currently an autonomous territory of the Kingdom of Denmark, and cited its strategic importance to the US.
On Saturday (January 17), Trump threatened European allies, including the UK, with 10 percent tariffs if a deal over Greenland is not reached.
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UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer described the move as “completely wrong”.
Also last week, 23 UK MPs from four parties – Labour, Liberal Democrats, Green Party, and Plaid Cymru – signed a motion in parliament calling on international sporting bodies to consider expelling the US from major international competitions, including the World Cup.
At this time, there is no suggestion that this could happen, although British journalist Piers Morgan has suggested that eight World Cup nations - England, France, Spain, Germany, Portugal, Netherlands, Norway, and Italy – should “pause participation” in the tournament as a way to “concentrate some minds”.
Topics: Donald Trump, Football
Luke Davies