Haitian football fans risk losing the chance to travel with their team to the United States of America for the 2026 FIFA World Cup because of an existing travel ban.
The nation booked its place at the World Cup for the second time in history after securing the top spot in a group that included Honduras, Costa Rica, and Nicaragua.
However, the US has prohibited Haitians, both immigrants and non-immigrants, from entering the country under an order titled “Restricting the Entry of Foreign Nationals to Protect the United States from Foreign Terrorists and Other National Security and Public Safety Threats.”
Explaining the move, US President Donald Trump stated that statistics from government agencies indicate Haitians have been entering the country in large numbers, contributing to increased overstay rates and criminal activities.
“Hundreds of thousands of illegal Haitian aliens flooded into the United States during the Biden Administration. This influx harms American communities by creating acute risks of increased overstay rates, establishment of criminal networks, and other national security threats.
“As is widely known, Haiti lacks a central authority with sufficient availability and dissemination of law enforcement information necessary to ensure its nationals do not undermine the national security of the United States,” he said, as reported by Daily Mail.
Despite the ban, an exception has been made 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.”
This implies that the entire squad and technical team are eligible to obtain visas to compete in the US during the World Cup.
However, the current ban means fans will not be granted visas unless a special arrangement is made by the Federation of International Football Association (FIFA) in collaboration with the US government to allow certain supporters entry.
According to the Center for Immigration Studies, there are an estimated 852,000 Haitian immigrants currently in the US, meaning those already staying there could to support the team if the ban stands.
Haiti has been embroiled in political crisis since the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse.
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Meanwhile, watch the feature about Swedru All Blacks’ journey from the Division One to the GPL below
