6-6-2025
US President Donald Trump’s travel ban on some countries will not affect the nations involved, if they qualify for the World Cup and the Olympics, the International Olympic Commitee has assured.
Mr. Trump during the week announced that citizens from Chad, Congo Brazzaville, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Iran, Yemen, Afghanistan and Myanmar cannot enter the USA.
Seven other countries – Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan and Venezuela are on the suspension list.
The USA will host the FIFA World Cup in 2026 alongside Canada and Mexico and in 2028 Los Angeles will host the Summer Olympics events which draw thousands of sports fans from across the world.
“Two hundred and six countries are preparing to come to the Games,” said Nicole Hoevertsz, IOC vice president who chairs the LA28 coordination 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.”
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 secretary of state” can still travel to the US.