USA's travel ban could impact their bid to host World Cup, says FIFA president
The United States' bid to host the 2026 World Cup could be hurt by its recent travel ban, FIFA president Gianni Infantino said in London on Thursday.
President Donald Trump signed a new executive order on Monday that suspended the refugee program as well as entry to the U.S. for travelers from six mostly Muslim countries: Iran, Syria, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen.
"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. "That is obvious."
If the U.S. will not allow anyone to enter the country from six countries, or even a single country, making it so their players, staff and fans could not play in the World Cup, it would be very difficult for the nation to host the tournament.
The U.S. is considered the favorite to host the 2026 World Cup. There is talk that they could do so as part of a joint bid with Mexico and/or Canada, but whether they do it with neighbors or alone, the expectation is that they will host the tournament. The travel ban does put some doubt into that.
FIFA will announce the process for bidding to host the 2026 World Cup later this year.
"Mr. Trump is the president of the United States of America and as such of course [I have] huge respect for what he does," Infantino continued.
"He's in charge, together with his government, to take decisions that are best for his country. That's why he has been elected.
"In the world there are many countries who have bans, travel bans, visa requirements and so on and so forth.
"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."
President Trump will not be in office in 2026, with term limits making 2024 the latest he can be president, and there is no telling what immigration policy would look like with him or another president nine years from now. It's also unclear how much the travel ban will factor into FIFA's decision making, but it is clear from Infantino's statement that it will play some role.
