Going to the 2026 World Cup: a dream waiting on a visa for many fans | OneFootball

Ivorians, Senegalese, Haitians, and the dream of watching their national teams play in the 2026 World Cup, depending on obtaining a visa to travel to the United States, a country currently much less willing to welcome tourists from certain nationalities.

“The difficulties are coming, judging by what we hear and read in the press, and we are worried,” Djibril Guèye, president of Allez Casa, the organized supporters of the Senegalese national team, told AFP. The team will face Kylian Mbappé's France and Erling Haaland's Norway in New Jersey.

Strict US Immigration Policy

Donald Trump's government, which adopted a restrictive immigration policy, froze in January the processing of immigrant visas for 75 countries, including four nations qualified for the World Cup: Haiti, Iran, Ivory Coast, and Senegal.

For the tournament, the White House made exceptions (players and technical teams of the national teams, as well as their families) and states that this freeze does not affect tourist visas.

The American government also implemented a “FIFA pass,” which allows ticket holders to expedite their appointments at the American embassy. However, “your entry is not a visa,” warned Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

To enter the US, it is necessary “to have flight reservations and a bank account with several million CFA francs,” explains Djibril Guèye.

Guèye emphasizes that most Senegalese fans “do not have these resources,” although the African country's government organizes the trip and covers “transportation, tickets, and accommodation.”

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Ivory Coast Organizes Fans' Trip

Ivory Coast is also organizing the arrival of its fans to the World Cup through the National Committee of Elephant Fans (CNSE), a state body that centralizes demands, submits visa applications to the US embassy, and assists with travel logistics.

The president of CNSE, Julien Adonis Kouadio, told AFP that he foresees the participation of “500 fans” in this initiative. Including those already in the United States, between 1,500 and 2,000 Ivory Coast fans are expected per game.

Fans are also concerned about the presence of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) at the stadiums, responsible for detaining, sometimes violently, undocumented immigrants.

“It's not the arrival at customs that worries us the most, because we are well organized,” adds Kouadio. “But with this security measure, we risk not experiencing the true spirit of football. We must not impose too many restrictions that prevent people from having fun.”

However, they will be able to experience the excitement of the World Cup in Canada, where Ivory Coast and Senegal will each play a game in the group stage.

Haitians in a Delicate Situation

Haiti, which qualified for the World Cup for the second time in its history, after participating in the 1974 edition in Germany, will play its first-phase games in the US.

The Haitian team will need the support of the country's citizens living in the US, as Washington suspended the issuance of visas to Haiti, including tourist visas, in June 2025.

Alphonse Occil, a 34-year-old Haitian engineer living in New York, managed to get a ticket for the game between Brazil and Haiti, which will take place on June 19 in Philadelphia.

“I took the risk and it was worth it,” he told AFP.

But, due to ICE raids, he is afraid to go to the stadium, despite being legally in the US and having paid $500 (R$ 2,500 at the current exchange rate) for the ticket. “I hope the authorities take measures to avoid disturbing the atmosphere. The tension needs to decrease,” said Occil.

In 2024, the Haitian community in the US was composed of about 850,000 people, according to official statistics.

This community is mainly concentrated in Florida, particularly in the Miami neighborhood known as Little Haiti, in New York, in the Northeast (Delaware, Maryland), and in Ohio (north).

And some of them live between a rock and a hard place, while the Trump administration wants to end the Temporary Protected Status (TPS), which prevents deportations.

Haiti is one of the poorest countries in the world and is plagued by political instability, economic crisis, and violence.

*Content produced by AFP

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.