US Politics
Fans of Senegal and Côte d’Ivoire may be excluded from World Cup due to Trump’s travel ban
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Fans of Senegal and Côte d’Ivoire may be excluded from attending the World Cup next year after Donald Trump imposed a travel ban on both countries.
The African nations’ supporters will face “partial restrictions and entry limitations”, according to the new rules announced by the White House on Wednesday.
They join Haiti and Iran, who are also World Cup participants, in facing the most severe restrictions.
The Trump administration blamed overstay rates for tourists on B1 or B2 visitor visas for the ban. Figures show an overstay rate of 4 per cent for Senegal and 13 per cent for Côte d’Ivoire.
It also pointed to “widespread corruption, fraudulent or unreliable civil documents and criminal records”.
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The proclamation made clear that athletes and World Cup athletes would be exempt from the rules.
Exclusions will apply to “any athlete or member of an athletic team, including the coaches, persons performing a necessary support role, and immediate relatives, travelling for the World Cup, Olympics or other major sporting event, as determined by the secretary of state”, according to the statement.
Several other countries were added to the list in the latest update, including full entry restrictions on Palestinians holding Palestinian Authority passports, as well as those from Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, South Sudan and Syria.
Laos and Sierra Leone were also added to the full-restriction list after being subject to partial restrictions previously.
An additional 15 countries have also been added to the list of countries facing partial restrictions including: Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Benin, Dominica, Gabon, Gambia, Malawi, Mauritania, Nigeria, Tanzania, Tonga, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
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The government said that the rules would remain in place until “credible improvements” are made to share information and cooperate with US immigration authorities.
The changes are part of an increasingly controversial immigration crackdown by the Trump administration, including ICE raids and a pause on all pending applications for green cards and citizenship for certain countries.
The 2026 World Cup will be jointly hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico and is set to start on 11 June.
It follows the arrest of an Afghan man accused of shooting two National Guard troops near the White House. He has pleaded not guilty to murder and assault charges.
Homeland Security secretary Kristi Noem had previously hinted that extensive restrictions would be put in place to safeguard against “foreign terrorists” and other security threats. Trump first introduced the controversial policies during his first term in office in 2017. The law was subject to a legal challenge but was later upheld in the US Supreme Court.
