Second Country on Donald Trump's Ban List Qualifies for World Cup
A second country on Donald Trump's banned list have qualified for the World Cup, potentially throwing the tournament into chaos.
The showpiece, in its 23rd edition, will kick off a revamped 48-team competition in the United States, Mexico and Canada in the summer.
After World Cup qualifiers across multiple continents in the past week, a total of 42 teams have already secured their ticket - with the remaining spots available through the play-offs.
Scotland made history by qualifying with a stunning 4-2 victory over Denmark, while there will be debuts for Curacao, Cape Verde, Jordan and Uzbekistan in North America.
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But with the buzz over the festival of football kicking in and the draw taking place on December 5, there is an element of uncertainty as two qualified nations are included on Trump's banned list.
In June, a travel ban was announced by the 47th President, with Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, Congo-Brazzaville, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen all hit with restrictions.
Meanwhile, Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan and Venezuela were all given partial travel restrictions.
Iran qualified for the World Cup for the seventh time in their history by topping their group with 23 points from 10 games in AFC qualifying.
However, they are on the banned list and it was previously reported that the United States have blocked their delegation from entering the country to be in attendance for December's World Cup draw.
In addition, Haiti sealed their second World Cup qualification alongside CONCACAF nations Panama and Curacao, who became the smallest country by population to qualify.
Haiti, who beat Nicaragua 2-0 on Wednesday to qualify, are also on the banned list after the US found the country "to be deficient with regards to screening and vetting and determined to pose a very high risk to the United States."
How will the travel ban affect the World Cup?
Home to 11 million people, Trump reportedly branded the country a "s**thole" in 2018.
Barring a few notable exceptions, nationals of the aforementioned countries cannot enter as immigrants or nonimmigrants (tourists).
U.S. citizens and green card holders from Haiti, who have a strong contingent in South Florida, are subjected to different treatment but the regulations are a cause for concern going into the World Cup.
Athletes competing in a major sporting event like the World Cup are exempt from Trump's travel ban, with coaches and immediate family members also set to be given permission.
FIFA confirmed that more than six million tickets will be made available for games across the US, where there are 11 host cities.
In the Oval Office of the White House on Monday, Trump again threatened to remove a city's hosting rights if the crime rate does not improve - this time speaking about Seattle after a similar promise regarding Boston.
The 79-year-old also announced details for the visa situation in terms of those who buy tickets and plan to attend the World Cup.
American embassies will give visa appointment priority to supporters with tickets - with the newly created FIFA Prioritised Appointment Scheduling System (Pass) set to make things smoother.
400 additional consular officers have been deployed to meet the expected overwhelming demand for tickets and visas, which are not guaranteed but allows fans to arrange an interview within a period of six to eight weeks from their application.
Explaining how the process works, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said: “It guarantees you an expedited appointment. You’ll still go through the same vetting process as anyone else. The only difference here is that we’re moving you up in line."
“America welcomes the world,” FIFA president Gianni Infantino added:
"We have always said that this will be the greatest and most inclusive FIFA World Cup in history — and the FIFA PASS service is a very concrete example of that.”
Topics: Donald Trump, FIFA World Cup, US Sports
Josh Lawless