However, as it looks right now, not all national teams will be able to count on a lot of support at the 2026 World Cup. At least, in those matches that will take place in stadiums in the USA, which is 78 out of 104 matches. And it’s not even a traditional problem, how to find tickets to the tournament. It is much more important to get permission to enter the country in order to be in your seats at the stadium.
2026 World Cup ticket holders will be entitled to priority entry for a US visa interview. The system called FIFA Pass, which was previously personally announced by US President Donald Trump, began its work on January 20. Its implementation was necessary in order for the fans of the national teams who qualified for the 2026 World Cup to have the opportunity to go through all the necessary interviews for obtaining a visa in the most simplified form. However, the registration through FIFA Pass by itself, as the representatives of the US State Department emphasized, does not guarantee the further approval of the visa at all, since the ticket holder will be required to undergo a “thorough check”.
It is worth noting that citizens of many countries that are participants in the program of visa-free entry to the USA, which extends to most of Europe, including Great Britain, as well as Australia, Japan and some other countries of the world, will not be required to submit documents for obtaining a visa. They will still be able to visit the USA for up to 90 days, simply by submitting an appropriate application to ESTA – the electronic entry permit system.
The FIFA Pass program is required for citizens of countries that do not have visa-free entry agreements with the United States. As officials of the State Department assure, the innovation will reduce a number of bureaucratic procedures and speed up the response to obtaining a visa for a period of 60 days. In other words, applicants will have to wait up to two months to find out whether they will be allowed to play in the 2026 World Cup in the USA or not.
The official statement states the following: “At the interview, the applicant must demonstrate that he meets the requirements for a visa, plans to comply with our laws and leave the country after the tournament [ЧС-2026]. America’s security and the protection of our borders will always come first.”
The launch of FIFA Pass practically coincided with the announcement by the American authorities regarding the suspension of immigration visas for citizens of a number of countries. In particular, the restrictions affected 75 countries, including, for example, Brazil, the five-time world champion in football. Of this number, 15 countries (Algeria, Brazil, Cape Verde, Colombia, Egypt, Ghana, Haiti, Iran, Ivory Coast, Jordan, Morocco, Senegal, Tunisia, Uruguay, Uzbekistan) have already qualified for the World Cup in the USA, Canada and Mexico. Another 7 countries (Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Iraq, Jamaica, Kosovo, North Macedonia) still claim a ticket to the 2026 World Cup through the final rounds of qualification.
However, a little later, the official representatives of the State Department came out with explanations that the suspension “applies only to the issuance of immigrant visas” and “does not apply to non-immigrant visas, such as visas for tourists, athletes and their families, as well as media representatives.”
The resolution on the indefinite suspension of the processing of applications for immigration visas from citizens of 75 countries entered into force the day before – on Wednesday, January 21. Before that, US President Donald Trump extended the ban on entering the country, which came into force on January 1, which prohibits citizens of countries included in this list from visiting the US.
Getty Images. Donald Trump and Gianni Infantino For example, Haiti and Iran, which have qualified for the 2026 World Cup, are included in the list of countries with total restrictions, while Côte d’Ivoire and Senegal, which also meet the criteria, are included in the list of countries with partial restrictions.
Already, the official US authorities emphasize that the FIFA Pass program will not provide an opportunity to obtain a visa to persons “who for certain reasons do not have the right to do so.” In other words, this means that at least fans of the four countries listed above are unlikely to be able to fly to the USA and attend World Cup matches, providing loud and active support for their favorites.
Exceptions certainly exist, but they apply to athletes, members of sports teams, including coaches and support staff, and their immediate family members. However, the clarifications make it quite clear that the exemptions do not apply to fans or spectators from these countries. The latter will be required to apply for visas in the usual manner, and the only concession they can count on by pre-purchasing a ticket for one of the 2026 World Cup matches is the right to a priority recording for an interview, which is granted to them under the FIFA Pass program.
Thus, many observers and experts already emphasize that the 2026 World Cup risks becoming one of the most “unfriendly” for football fans from around the world. On the other hand, the leadership of FIFA hardly has any real levers of pressure on the administration of US President Donald Trump, but even so, the boss of world football, Gianni Infantino, has done absolutely nothing to somehow try to solve this difficult situation. For Infantino, it is much easier to come up with another incomprehensible award for Trump than to enter into a controversy with it, the consequences of which are still unknown for the Swiss.
However, this is far from the main concern of FIFA, taking into account where the two previous World Cups were held and how, based on numerous rumors and facts from the media, the selection of hosts for the 2018 and 2022 world championships was conducted in general…
Text: meta.ua
Source: sport.ua