FIFA president: Trump travel ban could mean no World Cup in USA in 2026
This could be a side effect of the Trump travel ban down the road
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1 min read
President Donald Trump’s travel ban could have a big impact on international soccer. According to FIFA president Gianni Infantino, Trump’s executive order from Monday could hurt a World Cup bid by the U.S. for the 2026 cup.
Trump’s ban, which suspended the refugee program and entry into the U.S. for people from six mostly-Muslim countries, has put a future bid’s credibility into question.
“When it comes to FIFA 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,” Infantino said per The Guardian. “That is obvious.
“We are now in the process of defining the bid requirements. The requirements will be clear. And then each country can make up their decision, whether they want to bid or not based on the requirements. It’s general sporting criteria.”
The countries listed in the ban are Syria, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Yemen and Iran. Though it is supposedly temporary, if it is still around in years to come or if more countries are added to the list, it’s probably going to be hard to convince voters to pick the U.S.
It is still too early to tell how much something like this could hurt the USA’s chances, but in the early stages, it certainly doens’t help the country’s pursuit to land its first men’s World Cup since 1994.
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