US begins uneasy World Cup countdown as Trump moves Marines to Los Angeles
FILE PHOTO: Mar 13, 2025; Inglewood, California, USA; LA World Cup 2026 branding pictured during the unveiling of the new test soccer pitch in anticipation of Nations League play and 2026 World Cup at SoFi Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images/File Photo REUTERS
NEW YORK - U.S. cities hosting next year's FIFA World Cup faced questions on Wednesday about how to reassure international fans concerned by President Donald Trump's immigration crackdown and travel ban as the year-to-go countdown began.
The United States, along with Canada and Mexico, is set to co-host the finals, which will feature 48 teams and a record 104 matches in a tournament that FIFA boss Gianni Infantino said would usher in a new generation of soccer fans.
Celebrities and soccer stars were due to walk the red carpet at the Fox Studio Lot in Los Angeles - one of the host cities - for the year-to-go event there, a day after President Trump deployed Marines and the National Guard to quell protests.
California Governor Gavin Newsom described the deployment as an "unmistakable step toward authoritarianism," while Trump officials defended it and branded the protests as lawless, blaming local and state Democrats for permitting upheaval.
Los Angeles is one of several host cities that will mark the year-to-go occasion, including New York-New Jersey, which will welcome fans at a waterside festival in Jersey City with the Statue of Liberty in view.
"If we look at (American) football as the U.S.'s sport, soccer is the world's sport and this is an opportunity for us to welcome people from all over the world," Alex Lasry, the New York-New Jersey host Committee CEO, told Reuters.
Minky Worden, director of global initiatives at Human Rights Watch, said FIFA needed to work with the U.S. government to ensure the rights of competitors, support staff, fans and media were protected regardless of their identities or views.
"FIFA should publicly acknowledge the threat US immigration and other anti-human rights policies pose to the tournament's integrity ... (and) should establish clear benchmarks and timelines for the US policy changes needed to ensure respect for immigrants' rights during the 2026 World Cup and beyond," she said.
U.S. Democratic leaders raised concerns over a national crisis on Tuesday as Trump moved U.S. Marines into Los Angeles to tackle civilian protests over his immigration policies.
"There are certainly things that are happening at the national level, the international level, there are going to be geopolitical issues that we don't even know right now that are going to affect the tournament," Meg Kane, a host city executive for Philadelphia told reporters at a Paley Center event on Monday.
"So we recognise that we're planning within uncertainty."
FIFA did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
INFANTINO CONFIDENT
FIFA President Gianni Infantino said last month after meeting Trump that he was confident the world would be welcomed in for the 2026 World Cup and this year's Club World Cup, which runs from June 14 to July 13.
But the task of reassuring international fans was complicated by a travel ban that went into effect on Monday, cracking down on what Trump called "foreign terrorists".
Of the 12 countries facing travel bans, Iran is the only one that has qualified for the 2026 tournament so far. Tehran said on Saturday that the ban showed "deep hostility" toward Iranians and Muslims.
European fans, supporter groups and former players contacted by Reuters said it was too early for anyone to be thinking about revising schedules or reevaluating plans for attending the World Cup.
Alina Hudak, the Miami host committee president and CEO, told Reuters she had been in touch with the local consular corps to address their concerns and to offer support.
"My responsibility is to make sure that we're ready, that we're safe, that we're coordinating logistically with all of our law enforcement agencies, that we've done everything we can to ensure that our mass transit system is ready and can handle the volume," said Hudak.
"And so for me, you know, what's happening outside of that is something that we're monitoring, but not something that, quite frankly, I have an impact (on)." REUTERS
Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Straits Times
an hour ago
- Straits Times
Russian scientist at Harvard released on bail while awaiting US smuggling trial
FILE PHOTO: Kseniia Petrova, 31, a Russian-born scientist and research associate at Harvard University, poses for a jail booking photograph at the Ouachita Correctional Center in Richwood, Louisiana, U.S. May 14, 2025. Ouachita Parish Sheriff's Office/Handout via REUTERS/File Photo Russian scientist at Harvard released on bail while awaiting US smuggling trial BOSTON - A Russian-born scientist at Harvard University who was detained by U.S. immigration authorities in February after returning from a trip to France was granted bail on Thursday and released from custody while she awaits trial on a criminal charge of smuggling frog embryos into the United States. A federal magistrate judge in Boston released Kseniia Petrova, 30, two weeks after a different judge in Vermont granted her bail in her ongoing immigration case after concluding it appeared she was unlawfully detained. The May 28 decision by U.S. District Judge Christina Reiss concerned only Petrova's immigration case, though, and left unresolved the question of whether she would be granted bail in a subsequent criminal case prosecutors filed two weeks earlier. U.S. Magistrate Judge Judith Dein did just that during a hearing in Boston, after prosecutors dropped an earlier request to detain her, on the condition that she remain in New England while the criminal case is pending. "I just want to thank everybody for supporting me," Petrova in a video told reporters gathered outside the courthouse. Petrova's detention came as Republican President Donald Trump's administration ramps up deportations as part of its wide-ranging efforts to fulfill the president's hardline immigration agenda. Her supporters said she was taken into custody as part of the Trump administration's practice of targeting international students and academics for visa revocations and detention, leading to a series of court challenges. Petrova, who works at Harvard Medical School, was detained at Logan International Airport in Boston on February 16 on her return from a trip to France. Prosecutors said U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents stopped Petrova after her checked duffle bag was flagged for inspection, revealing the frog embryos. Petrova has said her boss asked her to bring back frog embryo samples for experiments. But prosecutors said the embryos constituted biological material that should have been declared to customs officials and required a permit. Petrova's visa was then canceled and immigration officials took her into custody with the intent of deporting her back to Russia, a prospect Petrova has said she feared after protesting Russia's war in Ukraine. She was held for months in an immigration detention facility in Louisiana and was only charged and moved into criminal custody shortly after Reiss heard arguments in a lawsuit Petrova filed challenging her detention. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Straits Times
an hour ago
- Straits Times
Top Africa official in US government to leave in July, State Dept says
Top Africa official in US government to leave in July, State Dept says The U.S. State Department's top official for Africa, Troy Fitrell, will retire in mid-July, a State Department spokesperson said on Thursday, adding the Africa bureau's number two, Jonathan Pratt, will step into the role. The change in leadership at the State Department's Africa bureau will come as President Donald Trump's administration is seeking to shift its strategy in the region to focus on trade rather than assistance. "After a long and distinguished career, the Department of State's Bureau of African Affairs Senior Bureau Official Ambassador Troy Fitrell is retiring in mid-July as planned," the State Department spokesperson said. "The Bureau of African Affairs Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary Jonathan Pratt will step into the senior bureau official role after Ambassador Fitrell's departure." Troy Fitrell, previously U.S. Ambassador to Guinea, has been running the Bureau of African Affairs in the absence of an officially nominated assistant secretary of State under Trump. The senior bureau official position serves in an acting capacity when an assistant secretary, a Senate-confirmed position, is yet to be named. Pratt, who previously served as U.S. Ambassador to Djibouti from 2021-2023, will also bring experience in the region to the role. He also previously held assignments in Republic of the Congo, Sudan and Angola, among other postings, according to the State Department website. Fitrell will leave his post on July 15, one source with direct knowledge of the decision told Reuters earlier on Thursday. Fitrell shared his plans to leave by that date over an email, a second source said. Reuters did not review the email. Fitrell did not respond to a request for comment. He told reporters last month he had tasked U.S. ambassadors on the continent to find commercial opportunities for U.S. companies, as the Trump administration has focused on trade with the region. The U.S. is keen to counter both Chinese and Russian influence on the continent, particularly over minerals and trade. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Straits Times
an hour ago
- Straits Times
Raducanu powers into Queen's Club quarters as last Briton standing
Tennis - Queen's Club Championships - Queen's Club, London, Britain - June 12, 2025 Russia's Diana Shnaider in action during her round of 16 match against Britain's Katie Boulter REUTERS/Toby Melville Tennis - Queen's Club Championships - Queen's Club, London, Britain - June 12, 2025 Kazakhstan's Elena Rybakina in action during her round of 16 match against Britain's Heather Watson REUTERS/Toby Melville Tennis - Queen's Club Championships - Queen's Club, London, Britain - June 12, 2025 Britain's Emma Raducanu in action during her round of 16 match against Slovakia's Rebecca Sramkova REUTERS/Toby Melville LONDON - Emma Raducanu cruised into the quarter-finals at the Queen's Club Championships with a 6-4 6-1 victory over Rebecca Sramkova on Thursday but fellow Britons Katie Boulter and Heather Watson were knocked out. The stands at the Andy Murray Arena were packed for Raducanu's victory as she advanced as the lone Briton left in the tournament and she will potentially play top seed and Paris Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen, who is playing later on Thursday. Raducanu raced into a 5-0 lead as the 22-year-old looked at ease on the grass but Sramkova saved two set points in the sixth game, finding her range in a comeback that quickly gathered pace. The Slovakian won four games on the trot as Raducanu's winners dried up but the Briton then recovered and served to love to seal the opening set, flashing a sheepish smile at her team as she walked back to her seat. Raducanu took confidence from her first serve and she started the second set as she did the first, racing into a 4-0 lead after she quickly consolidated a double break when Sramkova made a slew of errors. Raducanu then won the contest by converting a sixth break point, with victory confirming the former U.S. Open champion's status as the British number one again, leapfrogging her doubles partner Boulter. "I don't think it was my cleanest performance, but I'm really happy to have pushed through in some tight moments that decided the first set," Raducanu said. "It was really helpful... to have a big roar of support to get me through that last service game. So I appreciate that." Fourth seed Elena Rybakina showcased her power as she fired nine aces to beat Watson 6-4 6-2 after the Briton failed to capitalise on seven break points. Former Wimbledon champion Rybakina also became the first female player to fire 200 aces this year. "It was a tough match, she played really well. I am pretty happy with my game, especially in the second set," Rybakina said. "Hopefully with every match it will be better and better. I am enjoying my time here." Meanwhile, Russian fifth seed Diana Shnaider fought back from a set down to beat Boulter 2-6 6-3 6-2 to set up a quarter-final with Australian Open champion Madison Keys. "Katie is such a lovely person, I love her with all my heart. To play her and beat her in front of her home crowd, I am so sorry," Shnaider said. "I hope you don't hate me too much and come support me tomorrow!" REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
