Caribbean Cup Champ Mount Pleasant FA Players Denied Entry to U.S. for Match | OneFootball

For anyone who says that politics doesn’t affect the beautiful game, there’s this.

Yesterday it was revealed that ten players from the Caribbean Cup winners Mount Pleasant FA were denied visas to enter the United States. The team is scheduled to play at Dignity Health Park in Carson, CA against LA Galaxy in a Round of 16 tie tonight (Wednesday).

Among the ten players prohibited from traveling are a number of Haitian nationals. Some reports list the total at six or seven players, though roster lists from soccer websites all list different information on the current Mount Pleasant squad composition. The identities and nationalities of the remaining prohibited players are unknown at this time, though the club’s only non-Jamaican and non-Haitian player is Melvin Doxilly from Saint Lucia.

Travel Ban

Haiti is among the nations named in a State Department “travel ban” that was implemented by  President Donald Trump back in June 2025, and recently expanded to also include “partial travel restrictions” on many more. In total, 38 countries are on the list, and it should be noted neither Jamaica nor Saint Lucia is among them.

It should also be noted that Jamaica is one of the 75 nations for whom immigrant visa applications have been suspended, though this does not impact tourist or business visas. Nor should it impact P1-A visas, which is what athletes traveling to the U.S. apply for.

Pulling from the Academy

Mount Pleasant has confirmed they will bring up some academy players to cover the positions, and coach Theodore Whitman had this to say about the situation: “It’s an important issue. As a coach you would want your whole team to select from. Nonetheless, we have players who are eager to go out there and put all the negatives behind us and look forward.”

The Jamaican team was already a significant underdog even before 30% of their team essentially disappeared. Based on Concacaf’s club ranking, Mount Pleasant were 23rd out of the 26 clubs in the competition. Galaxy are 12th. Now the likelihood of a victory for the visitors seems even slimmer.

But the show must go on, as Concacaf officials confirmed via a statement: “Considering the competition regulations, and that the club had ample time to complete the visa application process following the competition’s official draw in December 2025, the series will proceed as scheduled.”

The glaring issue with that statement is that “completing the application process” doesn’t guarantee you entry. Perhaps Mount Pleasant did everything correctly, submitted on time, and still got denied.

It does ensure that tonight’s fixture, which kicks off at 9:30pm ET/6:30pm PT, will be played under an asterisk.