January 16 – The Trump administration’s decision to suspend immigrant visas for citizens of 75 countries is complicating the build-up to the 2026 World Cup, with the five-time champions, Brazil, Colombia, and Iran, among the 15 qualified nations affected by that policy.

The U.S. is “pausing immigrant visa processing for 75 countries whose migrants take welfare from the American people at unacceptable rates,” said the US State Department on social media.

The visa processing will stop January 21 and “will remain active until the U.S. can ensure that new immigrants will not extract wealth from the American people,” continued the post.

The visa suspension will, in theory, only apply to immigration visas. Temporary tourist or business visas will still be issued, though no priority or special dispensation has been declared for football fans who want, and have the financial means, to follow their countries. With tickets still to be allocated by FIFA, there is no guarantee that travel visa applications will be submitted in time to beat the long queues before the matches kick off.

The list of World Cup countries that will be impacted by the suspension are: Algeria,  Brazil, Cape Verde, Colombia, Egypt, Ghana, Haiti, Iran, Ivory Coast, Jordan, Morocco, Senegal, Tunisia, Uruguay, and Uzbekistan.

The good news for Scotland fans is that for all their games there could be a lot more ticket availability – Brazil, Morocco and Haiti, their three group opponents, are all on the visa banned list. The good news for FIFA is that the Scots bring the party.

But while the visa issue is a travel issue, there’s a bigger backdrop that’s making fans from around the world have second thoughts about joining a party that is beginning to feel more like a wake.

ICE (Immigration Customs Enforcement) operations have sparked public backlash across US cities, including host cities, with local leaders calling out what they see as racial profiling and wrongful detentions of people based on how they look, their accents, and where they’re from.

Civil liberties organisations and human rights groups are warning that the US immigration climate could cast a long shadow over the tournament, threatening not just visa access but basic feelings of safety for fans and families planning to attend.

In the past, World Cups have been built on people from every corner of the globe coming together in celebration. It’s not just about the players on the pitch. It’s about fans from Africa waving flags, Ultras from South America, Asian fans camping out in fan zones, and most significantly, diasporas within the host nation who once viewed America as a melting pot instead of a country that to the rest of the world now looks about to find its melting point.

When a significant portion of that global fan base watches the news of people being stopped on the street, held for hours without clear cause, caught up in aggressive immigration sweeps, or even shot dead, that doesn’t just dampen enthusiasm, it changes travel decisions. 

US tourism authorities are already reporting travel numbers are down. The World Cup was supposed to provide a boost but with prices astronomically high and fears of being inadvertently caught up in immigration law enforcement activities, there are increasing numbers of reasons to stay home.

Despite the FIFA president’s tight relationship with the Oval office and the politics that involves, FIFA has to ask itself a tough question about its mission, and whether the World Cup can really be hosted in a place where millions of fans will feel unwelcome or unsafe? If the U.S. wants to prove it can host a global party, it needs clear guarantees that fans will be treated fairly and free from fear of arbitrary detention or discrimination.

Moving the World Cup isn’t about politics for politics’ sake. It’s about whether the world’s biggest sporting celebration can genuinely be an inclusive global festival and football celebration that, like the game itself, is open to all. A scan of the online forums shows that current public feeling is that this is far from the case.

Yesterday FIFA announced that there had been more than 500 million ticket requests in the first application window. The world’s population is 8.2 billion. Of them, 3.5 billion live on less than $6.85 a day. Assuming they can’t afford a ticket to the World Cup but the remaining 4.7 billion people in the world can, about 12% of people in the world who can afford a ticket to 2026 applied for one.

Contact the writer of this story at moc.l1768584795labto1768584795ofdlr1768584795owedi1768584795sni@r1768584795etsbe1768584795w.kci1768584795n1768584795. Additional reporting by moc.l1768584795labto1768584795ofdlr1768584795owedi1768584795sni@n1768584795osloh1768584795cin.l1768584795uap1768584795