The World Cup is officially underway across North America, with matches being hosted in Canada, the United States and Mexico.
This event, which has generated global excitement, has been a long time in the works and is one that promised to be a major boon for tourism and the economy in host countries, including the United States. Players from 48 national teams are participating in World Cup matches, which are set to run from June 11 - July 19.
But in the United States, events did not get underway without incident. There's been a spate of headlines about players, fans and even referees, from some countries being detained by U.S. border agents, and in some cases individuals have been barred entirely.
The most notable of these incidents have included:
- Two members of Iraq's World Cup delegation being detained at O'Hare International Airport, with one of the members, a team photographer, ultimately being sent back home.
“When they arrived at O'Hare, U.S. Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) agents detained star player Aymen Hussein and questioned him for seven hours before he was allowed into the country,” CBS reported.
When questioned about the incident, CBP explained that ”on June 5, the Iraqi national team arrived at Chicago O'Hare International Airport from Dubai International Airport. During processing, two travelers underwent additional inspection, a routine part of CBP's inspection process when officers need to verify information or determine admissibility."
As Yahoo Sports reported, there is no suggestion that Hussein had done anything wrong, “but the timing and length of the delay raise questions that need answering.”
- The Department of Homeland Security also denied entry to a well-known and well-respected Somali referee, Omar Artan, as reported by WBEZ Chicago. Artan was refused entry due to “vetting concerns,” CBP said, according to WBEZ Chicago.
This is the case despite the fact that Artan traveled to the U.S. with both a diplomatic passport and a valid visa. Artan was set to become Somalia’s first-ever world cup referee. Instead, he was required to return to his home country. Officials there however, greeted him with a hero’s welcome.
- Several members of the Iranian national team were initially denied visas from the U.S., and the team has moved its training base from Arizona to Tijuana, Mexico at FIFA’s suggestion, according to multiple reports.
The WBEZ Chicago article reported that “The team’s ability to enter the United States is restricted to commuting across the border for each of its games in Los Angeles and Seattle, with the team required to leave the country immediately after each of the games.”
NPR separately reported that the team from Iran was forced to relocate its lodging to Mexico after the U.S.
government said players and staff were banned from staying overnight. DHS later denied that the team is being required to travel back and forth each day. Visas
for team members were subsequently approved, but "more than a dozen support
staff did not get approval, including Mehdi Taj, the president of the
Iranian football federation," per NPR.
The forward for Iran's team, Mehdi Taremi, later said during interviews, per ESPN, that the steps the U.S. government has taken regarding denial of visas and preventing a Somali referee from entering the country are hurting the country's image and creating a "lot of tension" around the World Cup. - It has also been reported that some fans from other countries have been denied entry to the United States. In particular, the Moroccan news website Hespress, says more than 40 members of Moroccan football team supporter
associations were refused visas to attend the tournament. Many had
tickets to the games and hotel bookings.
The World is Watching
There’s no disputing that Customs needs to do its job. And
none of us are privy to the full reasons behind the decisions being made
or the actions being taken.
However, it
must also be acknowledged that the world is watching right now. The
spotlight is on. People around the world are watching how the United
States is treating visitors who arrive at our borders. This is a litmus
test for the country. And the picture being painted is not entirely a
good one.
Subjecting one team to a lengthy search on
an airport tarmac with shoes off, detaining a star athlete for seven
hours of questioning, sending a well-respected referee who held both a
diplomatic passport and a valid visa back home…none of that is good PR
for the United States, no matter how much we chalk it up to CBP doing
its job.
It’s an observation being made on many fronts. On Instagram there have been posts stating: “Why is America hosting the World Cup if it is so hostile to foreign nationals?”
And at a World Cup press conference with FIFA officials, a journalist openly questioned the treatment that players from certain countries have received.
“You
say people should chill and relax about these situations but you’ve got
one of the world’s top referees told he can’t enter the United States,
sent back home, accused of having links with suspected terrorist
organizations," the journalst said. "We have Iran having to change their training base here to
Mexico. We have fans and journalists from a number of countries who
aren’t able to attend this World Cup because of travel bans or visa
restrictions. Are you embarrassed therefore by what has come to pass?”
Meanwhile,
Fasika Alem, programs director at the United African Organization
rightly pointed out in the WBEZ Chicago article, this global event
should be used as an occasion to put our best foot forward. And that is
not what has happened.
“The World Cup should be a
moment that brings people together across borders, cultures and
continents,” said Alem. “It should not be used to reinforce exclusion.
If the United States is going to host the world, it must welcome the
world.”
The U.S. Travel Association recently shared the
results of a YouGov poll meant to show that visitors from other countries do
indeed feel welcome when they come to the United States. The data, based
on travelers from eight key U.S. source markets, is meant to highlight
the fact that headlines focusing on the challenges some international
travelers face when coming to the U.S. do not paint a fully accurate
picture.
That is indeed a fair assessment. Many, many
travelers arrive in the United States without incident. However, it is
also not entirely fair or accurate to suggest that everything is just
fine, or better than fine, based on the opinions of travelers from our largest markets. The
United States is meant to be a melting pot, not an exclusive destination
reserved for a cherished few countries that are deemed appropriate by
the current U.S. president.
When asked for comment
about what has transpired surrounding the World Cup, a U.S. Travel
Association spokesperson provided the following statement:
“The
U.S. Travel Association stands firmly in support of both secure borders
and a welcoming environment for international travelers. Recent data
from Longwoods International shows that 80% of Americans in the 11 host
cities are excited to welcome the world and engage culturally.”
“While
we cannot comment on individual entry cases, which fall strictly under
the jurisdiction of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, operations of
this massive scale inherently involve complex federal logistics,” the
statement continues.
The U.S. Travel
Association also pointed TravelPulse to that recent YouGov poll, which showed that 83% of travelers from primary source markets experienced a highly
favorable arrival and 91% were satisfied with their overall visit.
Additionally, the spokesperson shared data underscoring how excited Americans
are for World Cup events. The organization did not directly
answer questions about the treatment some national soccer teams and
officials received upon arrival.
The questions
being raised right now however, have nothing to do with whether
Americans feel excited about the World Cup. The true question that
deserves answering is how do travelers from other countries feel when
they arrive here. And when it comes to travelers beyond this country’s key markets,
the answer may not be altogether favorable.
Furthermore,
if the World Cup is a moment for the United States to demonstrate that
we’re excited and ready to welcome the world and engage culturally, then
we are failing to truly rise to the occasion.
As
Jules Boykoff, a professor and the author of Red Card: The 2026 World
Cup, Sportswashing and the FIFA Greed Machine, told NPR, the image that
is emerging is just the opposite.
"I view the 2026
World Cup as a massive paradox," said Boykoff. "On one hand, it has more
teams than ever participating. On the other hand, because of the
policies of the Trump administration, it looks more like a World Cup of
exclusion than inclusion."
An immigration lawyer contacted by TravelPulse offered a similar assessment. "What
we're witnessing at our borders during the World Cup isn't just an
immigration issue—it's a national embarrassment that directly
contradicts America's promise of fairness and due process," Ahmad
Yakzan, of American Dream Law Office,
told TravelPulse. "When athletes and officials representing their
countries on the world stage are detained, questioned for hours, or
turned away despite having valid visas, it sends a chilling message:
even documented travelers with legitimate purposes aren't safe from
arbitrary enforcement."
In my opinion, the true test of how welcoming a country is materializes in moments big and small.
It's based on the full spectrum of a country's welcome, and on how we
treat people from all walks of life and all skin colors. And as the
world watches, we are failing that welcome test.
The individuals we have all witnessed being detained in connection with the World Cup underwent rigorous vetting to obtain their visas. They're not arriving in the United States unannounced. They're here, as Yakzan pointed out, because the U.S. invited the world to this tournament. Barring them or turning them away undermines our credibility.
These
actions also have very real consequences for the U.S. economy, which
must also be acknowledged. Presenting an image of being a welcoming
destination is critical to our travel and hospitality industry. And
when high-profile visitors like those associated with the World Cup experience the challenges they have thus far, very real damage is done.
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