A proclamation signed by President Trump widened his administration’s ongoing travel restrictions on Tuesday to include the 2026 World Cup participants Côte d’Ivoire and Senegal.
The two African nations were added to the travel ban list with what the White House statement said were “partial restrictions and entry limitations,” currently the least restrictive category among the full group of nations covered, which now numbers 39 after Tuesday’s announcement. The sweeping travel ban already includes two countries who will participate in the World Cup: Haiti and Iran, both of whom are subject to the most stringent restrictions.
In the cases of Senegal and Côte d’Ivoire, the reasoning provided by the White House for imposing the bans are visa overstay rates. For B1 or B2 visitor visas of the type travelling fans would need to enter the country for the World Cup, the overstay rates listed are about 4% for Senegal and 8% for Côte d’Ivoire, according to the Department of Homeland Security.
While some fans may face restrictions when trying to enter the US, the proclamation specifically cited athletes as one category of people, along with diplomats and “individuals whose entry serves US national interests”, who will be exempt from the ban.
The 2026 World Cup will be co-hosted by the US, Mexico and Canada, and will kick off on 11 June. Côte d’Ivoire were drawn in Group E, where they will play Germany, Curaçao and Ecuador. Senegal have been drawn in Group I of the tournament, along with France, Norway and a European playoff team to be determined. Senegal will also be one of the United States men’s national team’s final opponents in tune-up friendlies before the World Cup. The teams will play that match on 31 May in Charlotte, North Carolina – the second-to-last game before the United States’ World Cup opener against Paraguay.
The Trump administration’s World Cup taskforce, chaired by Andrew Giuliani, unveiled a fast-track visa system for World Cup visitors earlier in December. The Fifa prioritized appointment scheduling system will push World Cup ticket-holders to the front of the line for visa interviews. However, it is not yet known how that system will handle requests from the countries affected by the travel ban.
Next year’s edition of the World Cup has faced numerous controversies, relating not only to the Trump administration’s immigration policy and enforcement but also to Fifa’s running of the tournament. Most recently, the governing body of soccer came under fire for the exorbitant ticket prices charged for games thanks to dynamic pricing.
