FIFA have issued a statement on the status of the 2026 World Cup after American President Donald Trump placed indefinite visa processing suspensions on more nations.
Trump has issued a series of updated travel bans to certain foreign nations across his second term in the White House beginning January 2025.
These range from full travel bans, partial travel bans and immigrant visa suspensions.
There are exemptions for the vast majority of countries on the list, including the ability of a ‘small subset of travellers’, including athletes, to travel to ‘major sporting events’.
President Donald Trump and Gianni Infantino, President of FIFA, chat during the FIFA World Cup 2026 Official Draw. (Photo by Dan Mullan/Getty Images)
Trump’s latest directive means the likes of Iran and Haiti – who are both on the full ban list – can still send their players, coaches and support staff to the United States for the 2026 World Cup.
Meanwhile, Senegal and Ivory Coast are under partial travel bans.
On Wednesday, it was announced that the Trump administration would suspend immigrant visa processing for a total of 75 countries.
They include eight World Cup nations – Brazil, Colombia, Egypt, Ghana, Jordan, Morocco, Tunisia and Uruguay.
Those suspensions do not apply to travel visas – meaning fans from the affected countries can still travel to the US for the World Cup as things stand.
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks as he receives the FIFA Peace Prize from Gianni Infantino, President of FIFA. (Photo by Mandel NGAN – Pool/Getty Images)
To clarify things, FIFA issued a press release containing updates on ticket sales for the 2026 World Cup.
They state that fans from all 211 of its member nations submitted ticket requests between December 11 and January 13, during their Random Selection Draw ticket sales phase.
The statement adds that fans placed ‘an average of 15 million ticket requests per day over the 33-day application window’, and that it has succeeded in ‘setting a new benchmark for demand in the history of world football’.
A paragraph towards the end of the statement, however, notes that possessing a match ticket does not necessarily guarantee entry to host nations United States, Canada or Mexico.
“A match ticket does not guarantee admission to a host country, and fans should visit each country’s government website today for entry requirements for Canada, Mexico and the United States,” FIFA’s press release states.
“Given the processing times involved, FIFA recommends submitting the visa application as early as possible.
“FIFA World Cup 2026 ticket holders travelling to the United States are eligible for the recently announced FIFA Priority Appointment Scheduling System (FIFA PASS) when it becomes available in the coming weeks.”
