by Lacey Pfalz
Last updated: 9:15 AM ET, Fri June 6, 2025
The Trump Administration’s newly announced travel ban restricting travel for visitors from nineteen different countries will not be impacting the FIFA World Cup 2026 or the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics or Paralympics—at least for the athletes, coaches and other professionals.
According to Reuters, LA28 officials announced on Thursday that the games won’t have to worry about participants being denied entry to compete. Officials have also noted that they don't expect any drop in predicted visitation numbers for the Olympics or Paralympics.
"The important thing for us is that the federal government and this administration recognized the importance of the Olympics and the Games," LA28 CEO Reynold Hoover told Reuters on Thursday. "There is a carve-out in the order in the travel ban that allows for and assures that there will be access to the Games for the athletes and their families and officials…We will be able to have a wide-open Games."
In fact, the travel ban explicitly excludes athletes in the ban: listing in the exemptions “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.”
The FIFA World Cup 2026 is also not likely to be impacted, as the exemptions should allow for travel for athletes and their coaches and other personnel. The United States, Mexico and Canada are joint hosts for the global event.
The BBC noted that some players attending training camps hosted in the United States ahead of the FIFA World Cup might face trouble trying to enter the country, as it’s unclear whether the training camps, which are in preparation for the games, are considered part of the major event and therefore apply to the ban exemption.
Iran has already qualified for the 2026 World Cup, while Haiti, Sudan and Venezuela also have chances to qualify. Fans from these countries, who are all impacted by the ban, are likely to be unable to travel to attend the matches in support of their teams.
Visitors from Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen are no longer allowed to visit the United States under the ban, unless they hold dual citizenship with the United States or hold one of the other exceptions, like a special immigrant visa.
The ban also imposes partial restrictions on travelers from Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan and Venezuela.
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