What does Trump’s travel ban mean for sports?
London, June 7, 2025 (BBC/CrestNewsOnline) It is now pertinent to take a look at the implications of U.S. President Donald Trump’s recent travel ban on some countries as his country gears up to host the world’s two biggest sports events in the next three years.
The events are the 2026 FIFA World Cup and the 2028 Olympic Games, events which ordinarily see a host nation attract hundreds of thousands of visitors from across the globe.
The question is about the impact of the travel ban on the tournaments, as well as the effect of the policy on the wider world of sports.
The policy places full restrictions on citizens of 12 countries entering the U.S, as well as partial constraints on seven others.
This is part of an immigration crackdown Trump says is needed over security threats.
However, the order contains an exemption that could apply to participants in the 2026 FIFA World Cup and 2028 Olympics.
Organisers of the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics say they have “great confidence” that the ban will not disrupt the Summer Games or the preparations for them.
Speaking after a meeting with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Co-ordination Commission, LA28 Chairman and President Casey Wasserman said: “It was very clear in the directive that the Olympics require special consideration, and I want to thank the Federal Government for recognising that.
“It’s very clear that the government understands that’s an environment that they will be accommodating and provide for. And so, we have great confidence that that will only continue.”
Taking a closer look at the ban and its potential impact, we must first of all identify the countries the ban will affect.
Passport-holders from 12 countries are now outrightly banned from entering the U.S.
They are from Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen.
Seven more countries —- Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan and Venezuela —- face significant but not full restrictions on travel.
Section Four of the travel ban includes a clear exemption for sports stars travelling to those competitions —- and other “major” sporting events.
It says “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 U.S. Secretary of State” can still travel to the US.
“Two hundred and six countries are preparing to come to the Games,” said Nicole Hoevertsz, an IOC Vice-President who chairs the LA28 Co-ordination Commission.
“The Federal Government has given us that guarantee … to make sure that these participants will be able to enter the country… We are very confident that this is going to be accomplished.”
As well as the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games in Los Angeles, the U.S will also co-host the FIFA World Cup in 2026, alongside Canada and Mexico.
But what important detail has been left out of the announcement for the athletes?
The text means that those participating in the two major global sports events the U.S will host during Trump’s second term will still be able to travel.
But the lack of detail around other sports events throws open a series of important, and as yet unanswered, questions.
The State Department has offered no further clarification or measurement criteria for what Secretary of State Marco Rubio will or will not consider a “major sports event”.
“I think people from around the world, and Americans going to these events, would want to see actions like this,” said US State Department spokesperson Tommy Pigott at a press briefing on Thursday afternoon.
“This is part of what it means to host an event. We take security concerns extremely seriously. We want people to be able to go to the World Cup and do so safely.”
The CONCACAF Gold Cup, for example, begins in the U.S on June 15 and Haiti are due to participate.
But given the travel ban does not list the Gold Cup (which features North America, Central America and Caribbean countries) as among the exempted major events, their participation is now in doubt.
The phrasing “World Cup” is also unclear.
The revamped FIFA Club World Cup, featuring 32 of the world’s best club teams, will take place in the U.S from June 14 to July 13, and 10 players from countries under travel restriction are on the books of the competing clubs.
But whether the tournament is included in the exemption or not has not yet been clarified.
Furthermore, track and field athletes often travel to the U.S to participate in training camps in preparation for major meets.
Though the exemptions make it clear that athletes from the affected countries can travel to the Olympics in 2028, it makes no mention of their ability to attend camps in the time before then.
Curiously, fans from the restricted countries have not been given an exemption for major sports events.
Iran, for example, have already qualified for the 2026 World Cup, while the likes of Haiti, Sudan and Venezuela also stand a chance of qualifying.
There have already been concerns over the length of time the citizens of some countries were being made to wait for US travel visas to be processed and granted.
And now fans of all of those teams will be unable to travel to the tournament, as things stand.
It could be argued that the restriction means those teams will suffer a competitive disadvantage, given their rivals will be able to draw on support from the stands.
When asked if he was worried that ticket sales for the LA Games could be affected, Wasserman said “no”.
The proclamation does not state clearly what will happen to athletes who are citizens of barred countries but currently work in the U.S.
The National Basketball Association (NBA), Major League Baseball (MLB) and Major League Soccer (MLS) all feature players who are citizens of countries now placed on the travel ban list.
Now, how those players can continue to play in the U.S is uncertain.
In football, for example, nine Venezuelans are currently on the books of MLS clubs.
Three of them —- Ronald Hernandez of Philadelphia Union, David Martinez of Los Angeles FC, Josef Martinez of San Jose Earthquakes —– are due to take part in international fixtures abroad over the next week.
By the time they return to the U.S, travel restrictions on Venezuelans will be in place.
It is not clear whether the three, and other athletes employed by U.S teams across all sports, will be allowed to return after travelling abroad to compete or visit family.
The involvement of seven top Afghan cricketers in Major League Cricket (MLC) is also uncertain.
An MLC spokesperson told the media they were “continuing to monitor the situation and are working with the relevant authorities to minimise travel disruptions for overseas players”.
During his first term in office, Trump enacted a sweeping travel ban on some countries, most of which had majority Muslim populations.
At the time, the MLS Players Union said it was “deepy concerned” about members that may be impacted and that it was “extremely disappointed”.
Trump’s anti-immigration policies have also prevented some athletes from other nations taking part in scheduled events held in the U.S.
In 2017, the Tibetan women’s football team were denied U.S visas to attend the Dallas Cup in Texas.
In 2019 nine players from the Guatemalan under-15 national football team were denied entry to participate in the Under-15 CONCACAF Championship, and Cuba captain Yordan Santa Cruz was denied a visa for the 2019 Gold Cup.
In 2017 football’s world governing body FIFA warned Trump that travel bans could hinder the U.S joint bid for the 2026 World Cup.
FIFA president Gianni Infantino said: “It’s obvious when it comes to our competitions, any team, including the supporters and officials of that team, who qualify for a World Cup need to have access to the country, otherwise there is no World Cup. The requirements will be clear.”
That ban was eventually overturned by Trump’s successor Joe Biden in 2021.
Earlier this year Zambia’s women’s team withdrew four U.S-based players from their squad for an upcoming tournament in China because of “travel measures” introduced by Trump.
In April there were concerns that Duke University basketball star Khaman Maluach could face possible deportation after the US revoked all visas of South Sudanese passport-holders and he was advised to not leave the country in case he could not re-enter.
The FIFA President attended Trump’s inauguration in January and was seen applauding and laughing during the Republican’s speech alongside tech billionaires including Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg and Jeff Bezos.
The speech —- given by Trump after he was sworn in for his second term as President —– included negative comments about neighbouring Canada and Mexico, World Cup co-hosts with the U.S.
During the week of the inauguration, Infantino made a series of glowing social media posts about Trump, including writing “Donald Trump and I share a great friendship” in an Instagram caption.
In total, Infantino posted about Trump nine times in less than a week.
Infantino then accompanied Trump on the latter’s state visit to Saudi Arabia, before drawing the ire of UEFA and other continental bodies by delaying the start of the FIFA Congress in Paraguay in order to hold a private meeting with Trump.
It now remains to be seen how both the IOC and FIFA will deal with these issues and others that may come up sooner or later in the coming months.
(BBC/www.crestnewsonline.ng)
