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The Independent
an hour ago
- Politics
- The Independent
The impact of Trump's travel ban on 2026 World Cup and 2028 Olympic Games in US
Donald Trump has often stated his excitement for the 2026 World Cup and the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, claiming they are among the events he looks forward to most in his second term. Trump himself will present the tournament's winner with the trophy after the final at MetLife Stadium, New Jersey on 19 July. However, there is growing uncertainty surrounding visa policies for foreign visitors planning to attend these major sporting events in the US. Trump's recent travel ban on citizens from 12 countries has raised concerns about the potential impact on the World Cup and the Summer Olympics, both of which rely on hosts welcoming participants and spectators from around the globe. The travel ban has cast a shadow over the feasibility of hosting these international events. Here's a look at the potential effects of the travel ban on those events. What is the travel ban policy? When Sunday ticks over to Monday, citizens of 12 countries should be banned from entering the US. They are Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, the Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen. Tighter restrictions will apply to visitors from seven more: Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan and Venezuela. Trump said some countries had 'deficient' screening and vetting processes or have historically refused to take back their own citizens. How does the travel ban affect the World Cup and Olympics? Iran, a soccer power in Asia, is the only targeted country to qualify so far for the World Cup being co-hosted by the US, Canada and Mexico in one year's time. Cuba, Haiti and Sudan are in contention. Sierra Leone might stay involved through multiple playoff games. Burundi, Equatorial Guinea and Libya have very outside shots. But all should be able to send teams to the World Cup if they qualify because the new policy makes exceptions for '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.' About 200 countries could send athletes to the Summer Games, including those targeted by the latest travel restrictions. The exceptions should apply to them as well if the ban is still in place in its current form. What about fans? The travel ban doesn't mention any exceptions for fans from the targeted countries wishing to travel to the US for the World Cup or Olympics. Even before the travel ban, fans of the Iran soccer team living in that country already had issues about getting a visa for a World Cup visit. Still, national team supporters often profile differently to fans of club teams who go abroad for games in international competitions like the UEFA Champions League. For many countries, fans traveling to the World Cup — an expensive travel plan with hiked flight and hotel prices — are often from the diaspora, wealthier, and could have different passport options. A World Cup visitor is broadly higher-spending and lower-risk for host nation security planning. Visitors to the Olympics are often even higher-end clients, though tourism for a Summer Games is significantly less than at a World Cup, with fewer still from most of the 19 countries now targeted. How is the US working with FIFA and Olympic officials? FIFA President Gianni Infantino has publicly built close ties since 2018 to Trump — too close according to some. He has cited the need to ensure FIFA 's smooth operations at a tournament that will earn a big majority of the soccer body's expected $13 billion revenue from 2023-26. Infantino sat next to Trump at the White House task force meeting on May 6 which prominently included Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem. FIFA's top delegate on the task force is Infantino ally Carlos Cordeiro, a former Goldman Sachs partner whose two-year run as US Soccer Federation president ended in controversy in 2020. Any visa and security issues FIFA faces — including at the 32-team Club World Cup that kicks off next week in Miami — can help LA Olympics organizers finesse their plans. 'I don't anticipate any, any problems from any countries to come and participate,' LA Games chairman Casey Wasserman told International Olympic Committee officials in March. He revealed then, at an IOC meeting in Greece, two discreet meetings with Trump and noted the State Department has a 'fully staffed desk' to help prepare for short-notice visa processing in the summer of 2028 — albeit with a focus on teams rather than fans. 'Irrespective of politics today,' Wasserman said in March, 'America will be open and accepting to all 209 countries for the Olympics.' FIFA and the IOC didn't immediately respond to requests for comment about the new Trump travel ban. What have other host nations done? The 2018 World Cup host Russia let fans enter the country with a game ticket doubling as their visa. So did Qatar four years later. Both governments, however, also performed background checks on all visitors coming to the month-long soccer tournaments. Governments have refused entry to unwelcome visitors. For the 2012 London Olympics, Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko — who is still its authoritarian leader today — was denied a visa despite also leading its national Olympic body. The IOC also suspended him from the Tokyo Olympics held in 2021.
CTV News
an hour ago
- Politics
- CTV News
What the Trump travel ban means for the 2026 World Cup and 2028 Olympic Games
FIFA President Gianni Infantino addresses the FIFA 75th Congress at the Conmebol Convention Center in Luque, Paraguay, Thursday, May 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Fernando Calistro) GENEVA — U.S. President Donald Trump often says the 2026 World Cup and 2028 Los Angeles Olympics are among the events he is most excited about in his second term. Yet there is significant uncertainty regarding visa policies for foreign visitors planning trips to the U.S. for the two biggest events in sports. Trump's latest travel ban on citizens from 12 countries added new questions about the impact on the World Cup and the Summer Olympics, which depend on hosts opening their doors to the world. Here's a look at the potential effects of the travel ban on those events. What is the travel ban policy? When Sunday ticks over to Monday, citizens of 12 countries should be banned from entering the U.S. They are Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, the Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen. Tighter restrictions will apply to visitors from seven more: Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan and Venezuela. Trump said some countries had 'deficient' screening and vetting processes or have historically refused to take back their own citizens. How does it affect the World Cup and Olympics? Iran, a soccer power in Asia, is the only targeted country to qualify so far for the World Cup being co-hosted by the U.S., Canada and Mexico in one year's time. Cuba, Haiti and Sudan are in contention. Sierra Leone might stay involved through multiple playoff games. Burundi, Equatorial Guinea and Libya have very outside shots. But all should be able to send teams to the World Cup if they qualify because the new policy makes exceptions for '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.' About 200 countries could send athletes to the Summer Games, including those targeted by the latest travel restrictions. The exceptions should apply to them as well if the ban is still in place in its current form. What about fans? The travel ban doesn't mention any exceptions for fans from the targeted countries wishing to travel to the U.S. for the World Cup or Olympics. Even before the travel ban, fans of the Iran soccer team living in that country already had issues about getting a visa for a World Cup visit. Still, national team supporters often profile differently to fans of club teams who go abroad for games in international competitions like the UEFA Champions League. For many countries, fans traveling to the World Cup — an expensive travel plan with hiked flight and hotel prices — are often from the diaspora, wealthier, and could have different passport options. A World Cup visitor is broadly higher-spending and lower-risk for host nation security planning. Visitors to an Olympics are often even higher-end clients, though tourism for a Summer Games is significantly less than at a World Cup, with fewer still from most of the 19 countries now targeted. How is the U.S. working with FIFA, Olympic officials? FIFA President Gianni Infantino has publicly built close ties since 2018 to Trump — too close according to some. He has cited the need to ensure FIFA's smooth operations at a tournament that will earn a big majority of the soccer body's expected $13 billion revenue from 2023-26. Infantino sat next to Trump at the White House task force meeting on May 6 which prominently included Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem. FIFA's top delegate on the task force is Infantino ally Carlos Cordeiro, a former Goldman Sachs partner whose two-year run as U.S. Soccer Federation president ended in controversy in 2020. Any visa and security issues FIFA faces — including at the 32-team Club World Cup that kicks off next week in Miami — can help LA Olympics organizers finesse their plans. 'I don't anticipate any, any problems from any countries to come and participate,' LA Games chairman Casey Wasserman told International Olympic Committee officials in March. He revealed then, at an IOC meeting in Greece, two discreet meetings with Trump and noted the State Department has a 'fully staffed desk' to help prepare for short-notice visa processing in the summer of 2028 — albeit with a focus on teams rather than fans. 'Irrespective of politics today,' Wasserman said in March, 'America will be open and accepting to all 209 countries for the Olympics.' FIFA and the IOC didn't immediately respond to requests for comment about the new Trump travel ban. What have other host nations done? The 2018 World Cup host Russia let fans enter the country with a game ticket doubling as their visa. So did Qatar four years later. Both governments, however, also performed background checks on all visitors coming to the month-long soccer tournaments. Governments have refused entry to unwelcome visitors. For the 2012 London Olympics, Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko — who is still its authoritarian leader today — was denied a visa despite also leading its national Olympic body. The IOC also suspended him from the Tokyo Olympics held in 2021. ___ Graham Dunbar, The Associated Press
The Guardian
8 hours ago
- Politics
- The Guardian
Trump travel ban includes exemption for World Cup and Olympic athletes
Donald Trump's newly signed travel ban contains an exemption that could apply to players, staff or associated families with clubs participating in the 2025 Club World Cup, 2026 Fifa World Cup or the 2028 Olympics. The US president has signed a sweeping order banning travel from 12 countries and restricting travel from seven others, reviving and expanding the travel bans from his first term. The nationals of Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen will be 'fully' restricted from entering the US, according to the proclamation. Meanwhile, the entry of nationals of Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan and Venezuela will be partially restricted. There is an exemption, however, outlined in section 4 of the order, which states that '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' are not subject to the ban. A Fifa spokesperson declined to comment when asked if the governing body had lobbied for the exception's placement. The Fifa president, Gianni Infantino, has gone out of his way to appear publicly with Trump in recent months, taking a seat next to the president at the first public meeting of his World Cup taskforce and arriving late to the Fifa Congress in order to meet with Trump during his tour of the Middle East. It is also not clear whether the 'World Cup' mentioned in the exemption applies to to both the 2026 World Cup involving international teams and the 2025 Club World Cup, which will feature many of the world's top club teams in venues across the US this year. Also unclear is whether the ban will force US-based players who play internationally for countries subject to the ban to return from the current Fifa international window early. Venezuela, for example, have three players on its squad who play in Major League Soccer. They are scheduled to play two World Cup qualifiers: one against Bolivia on Friday night and another against Uruguay on Tuesday. Trump's travel ban is set to come into action on Monday 9 June. Teams that have qualified for the Club World Cup currently employ 10 players from countries named in the travel ban. They are: Inter Miami's Telasco Segovia (Venezuela), Botafogo's Jefferson Savarino (Venezuela), Esperance de Tunis's Roger Aholou (Togo), LAFC's David Martínez (Venezuela), Inter's Mehdi Taremi (Iran), Ulsan's Matías Lacava (Venezuela), Al-Ain's Kodjo Fo-Doh Laba (Togo), Josna Loulendo (Republic of Congo) and Mohamed Awadalla (Sudan), as well as Pachuca's Salomón Rondón (Venezuela). Only one country on the travel ban list, Iran, has already qualified for the 2026 World Cup. Venezuela are seventh in South American qualifying, five points behind Colombia for an automatic World Cup place but still in the picture to qualify via an inter-confederation playoff. Equatorial Guinea and Libya are mathematically still alive in African qualifying but unlikely to progress to the next round. Sudan are third in their World Cup qualifying group, just one point from automatic qualification. Haiti look good to reach the next round of Concacaf World Cup qualification.
Irish Times
3 days ago
- Business
- Irish Times
‘This is our home town, but we can't afford to live here': Westport housing crisis leaves no room for ‘coveys'
Shannon Sweeney is an elite Irish boxer with her eyes on the 2028 Olympics and lives in her neighbour's spare room in Westport , Co Mayo. 'I'm very, very appreciative that they're there, because without them I don't know where I'd be. Times are tough,' the 26-year-old says outside the ring at St Anne's boxing club in the town. The housing crisis in Westport hit the headlines last month after a Mayo County Council official proposed a boycott on holiday homeowners to free up housing for locals . There is one Airbnb listing for every three private rental properties in Westport, an ESRI report in April found. READ MORE Legislation aimed at cracking down on short-term letting and freeing up more long-term rental accommodation across the country is due to come into effect next summer. It will apply to towns in Rent Pressure Zones and with a population of more than 10,000 people. Although Westport is in a Rent Pressure Zone, its population was 6,872 at the last census, meaning it would be exempt from the new legislation. As the debate around these short-term lets in the town heated up last month, The Irish Times visited to get local residents' take on the housing crisis there. Shannon Sweeney: 'Cost of renting a house in Westport at the moment is extortionate.' Photograph: Conor McKeown Sweeney is what locals affectionately call a 'covey' – a Westport-local, born and bred in the town. She has been part of the Irish boxing high-performance squad based in Adamstown, Dublin, for the last three years and she trains there four days a week. While in Dublin, she is provided accommodation on campus, but when she comes home she faces a much different situation. She trains full-time so she can compete at boxing's highest level and she earned €12,000 last year, which is nowhere near enough to buy or rent in her hometown. She is on the local social housing list, but does not see herself having a home of her own in her near future. 'I'm giving up everything to pursue something that I love, but it's unfortunate that I can't work and get, like, a certain income in order for me to buy a house. I suppose I'm trying to follow a dream, but then at the same time there's obviously all the stress with the housing situation,' she says. Sweeney fights at 50kg and won gold at the European Championships last year, carving out a path for herself to the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles. While her vision for the career ahead of her is clear, she doesn't see any path to owning or renting a home of her own in her near future. 'The cost of renting a house [in Westport] at the moment is just extortionate. There's no way, unless you give up everything, go working seven days a week or move to Australia, I can't see any other way,' Sweeney says. 'But you kind of just have to push that to the side and just focus on what you can control, because they're just some things you can control and some things you can't.' Graham Byrne, owner of Krem, says: 'We need to make sure there's enough accommodation for staff.' Photograph: Conor McKeown Graham Byrne, who owns the Krem ice cream shop on Bridge Street in the centre of Westport, says that while the town needs short-term rentals to keep its tourism sector going it also needs more accommodation for the staff providing those services. 'We need it for tourism. We are a tourist town and we love seeing people come through, but we need to make sure that there's enough accommodation for the staff otherwise there's nothing for the people to do,' he says. Some hoteliers in town are building staff accommodation or they're buying houses just to house their staff Byrne has witnessed first hand the struggles of Westport's housing crisis through his staff. 'I'm very lucky with the staff I have. I trust them so much. I have a couple of staff that are very fortunate to live close by, but I also have staff with huge commutes,' he says. 'One guy gets the train or the bus from Claremorris, an hour-long journey, and I have another guy who has to walk over an hour to get here.' While he has provided an e-scooter for the man with an hour's walk, he sees providing accommodation himself for staff as the only way forward. 'I know some of the hoteliers in the town are building staff accommodation or they're buying houses just to house their staff. They just can't get the staff if they can't accommodate them,' Byrne says. Mayo Councillor Peter Flynn warns that crisis will worsen without reforms. Photograph: Conor McKeown Westport Fine Gael councillor Peter Flynn says he has 'never encountered so many working people who are either homeless or living at home with their parents or living in remote parts of the county away from their jobs and families'. He says: 'My 20-plus years as a councillor includes going through the worst recession ever and a bleak period back in the 1990s, but nothing compares to where we are now when it comes to housing.' He believes many homeowners are turning to Airbnb rather than long-term rentals because it makes more sense for them financially. The Rent Pressure Zone rules 'have actually made the situation worse' while the tax system is 'wholly in favour of short-term letting'. There is a transient community in the town now, with many housing estates in the dark from Monday to Thursday due to the dominance of holiday homes. We have created an absolute mess and if serious reform doesn't happen then this crisis will only get worse Flynn says that while supply needs to be increased, councils also need to focus on returning derelict properties into use as residential units in the town centre. 'The council executive has lost sight of what their powers are in terms of dealing with derelict and vacant homes in our town centres,' Flynn says, citing an estate of 22 new homes in Newport which are lying vacant in the midst of a housing crisis. 'We have created an absolute mess and if serious reform doesn't happen soon with senior people in our councils, Approved Housing Bodies, this crisis will only get worse,' he says. Danny Coughlan: 'You would be lucky to come across a one-bed apartment for under €1,400.' Photograph: Conor McKeown Danny Coughlan (35) is another Westport native. He works in pharmaceutical plant AbbVie in the town and is living in his mother's house with his partner, who is a preschool teacher, and their three-year-old daughter. The couple began looking for a place of their own to rent in the town about five years ago, but there was nothing they could afford. 'You would be lucky to come across a one-bed apartment for under €1,400,' he says. They were approved for the help-to-buy scheme, which would give them tax back on a new-build house purchase, but finding a new-build home in Westport within their budget proved impossible. An affordable purchase scheme of five homes was launched in the town last year, but there were so many other applicants the couple failed to secure one. 'We missed out on that, which was very disappointing. We kind of had to go back to the drawing board thinking what do we do now? We can't stay in my mother's forever.' The couple have recently gone sale agreed on a new-build home in Ballyvary, a town 30km east of Westport. Westport relies on tourism, but locals say their accommodation needs must be addressed too. Photograph: Conor McKeown While Coughlan says they were 'very lucky' to get the last house in that development, it will mean a lot of driving in and out of his hometown where the couple work and their daughter goes to creche. 'It's very frustrating. The price of renting and buying [in Westport] is just ridiculous. This is our hometown, it's where we've grown up for the last 35 years. But we just know now there's no way we can stay in it,' he says. 'It's great to see the tourists in the town. But at the same time, it'd be nicer to see the local people be able to afford to live in the town.' Music filled the streets of Westport on Sunday, with people with backpacks down from Croagh Patrick mixing with young pubgoers out on a bank holiday weekend, as far flung accents ordered ice cream across the road. While part of Westport's charm is the warmth of its coveys, it appears many of them are beginning to wonder if their days are numbered, Byrne says. 'A lot of the older stock who live in the area are wondering now what about my son and my daughter? Will they be able to live in Westport?'
New York Times
7 days ago
- General
- New York Times
Patrick Mahomes brushes off idea of playing Olympic flag football: ‘I'll probably leave that to the younger guys'
If you're drafting an all-star NFL flag football team for the 2028 Olympics, one Super Bowl-winning quarterback might already be off the board. Kansas City Chiefs star quarterback Patrick Mahomes pushed off the notion that he'd petition to play flag football at the 2028 Olympic Games while speaking with reporters on Thursday. Advertisement 'It's awesome to be able to showcase the NFL to the whole world through flag football, but I'll probably leave that to the younger guys,' Mahomes told reporters after Chiefs OTAs on Thursday. 'I'll be a little older by the time that comes around.' Mahomes, who enters his ninth NFL season and will turn 30 in September, will be 32 when the 2028 Los Angeles Games begin. NFL owners unanimously approved a resolution earlier this month allowing current NFL players to try out for flag football teams for the 2028 Olympics. The decision was met with excitement from many NFL stars and executives eager to expand the league's global footprint. Although flag football will make its Olympic debut in 2028, the sport has been played on a global stage for years. U.S. flag football quarterback Darrell 'Housh' Doucette has been a vocal advocate for current flag football players and their consideration for Olympic rosters. Doucette, who has led the U.S. national team to the past four global championships, gained attention in August when he told TMZ he felt like he was better than Mahomes. Earlier this month, Doucette reiterated to the Washington Post that he thinks flag football players deserve their opportunity. 'This is a sport that we've played for a long time, and we feel like we are the best at it and we don't need other guys,' Doucette, 35, said. Mahomes' teammate, tight end Travis Kelce, responded to Doucette on a recent episode of his 'New Heights' podcast, which he hosts with his brother Jason. 'Is this guy afraid of competition?' Kelce said. 'Have a tryout and the best players make the team. He's just boxing out other people from joining the sport because they haven't played that specific style of football?' When the resolution was approved, USA Football CEO and executive director Scott Hallenbeck acknowledged that former flag football players will remain part of the equation while expressing excitement for the inclusion of NFL talent. Advertisement 'We're fortunate to have a talent pool that already features prominent flag football stars who have helped USA Football establish a gold-medal standard in international competition,' Hallenbeck said. 'Including players from the NFL only strengthens our ability to build the best U.S. Men's National Team possible and achieve our ultimate goal for LA28: to bring home two gold medals in flag football. We will continue to develop our high-performance plan that guides the creation of our National Teams. We look forward to working with the NFL on the specific opportunities that NFL players can use to showcase their skills and become eligible for selection to Team USA.' Per the resolution, one player on each NFL roster can try out for a given country's Olympic team (six countries will compete in men's flag football in 2028). Olympic flag football teams must ensure their practices, games and other events don't conflict with players' commitments to their respective NFL teams. The Games begin July 14, so if the flag football competition is held in the first week, the event will be over by the time many NFL training camps begin in late July.
