World Cup 2026: Fresh Blow to Countries as Donald Trump Announces New Sanctions
- Donald Trump has banned 12 countries from travelling to the United States, throwing next year's World Cup plans into disarray
- Trump has followed up on his immigration crackdown promise, placing a total ban on seven countries and a partial ban on seven others
- Players and technical staff of the affected countries will be given a pass, but the question remains about their families and fans
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Donald Trump has banned the citizens of 12 countries from entering the United States of America in a fresh, far-reaching directive.
Source: Getty Images
The US president signed the new proclamation on Wednesday as part of his enhanced crackdown on immigration, which started as soon as he returned to the White House earlier this year.
Which countries has Donald Trump banned?
Trump has now banned citizens of Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen from travelling to the United States.
Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan and Venezuela have been put on the partial ban list.
"We cannot have open migration from any country where we cannot safely and reliably vet and screen. That is why today I am signing a new executive order placing travel restrictions on countries," said Trump.
"I must act to protect the national security and national interest of the United States and its people. I remain committed to engaging with those countries willing to cooperate to improve information-sharing and identity-management procedures, and to address both terrorism-related and public-safety risks."
The 78-year-old further issued strict conditions under which the sweeping bans would be lifted.
"Some of the countries with inadequacies face significant challenges to reform efforts. Others have made important improvements to their protocols and procedures, and I commend them for these efforts. But until countries with identified inadequacies address them, members of my Cabinet have recommended certain conditional restrictions and limitations. I have considered and largely accepted those recommendations and impose the limitations"
How does this affect World Cup 2026?
The USA is set to host the 2026 FIFA World Cup alongside Mexico and Canada.
The executive order, however, has a clause allowing any athlete or member of an athletic team, including coaches, persons performing a necessary support role, and immediate relatives, to travel for the World Cup, Olympics, or other major sporting event as determined by the Secretary of State as captured in Section 4 of the order.
However, there is no mention of whether the fans and the families of players from the countries that qualify will be allowed into the United States to support their teams.
Source: Getty Images
Which countries have qualified for World Cup in Trump's list?
Of the countries in Trump's list, Iran has already qualified for the World Cup. Mehdi Taremi scored twice to salvage a point against Uzbekistan in March, which was enough for them to confirm their place as one of the Asian teams. Team Melli will be on the biggest stage for the fourth consecutive time.
Equatorial Guinea and Libya are still mathematically in the race but can only qualify via the playoffs. Sudan are also chasing a maiden qualification spot and they are up against giants DR Congo and Senegal in Group B of the CAF qualifiers.
Full list of countries that have qualified for World Cup 2026
Apart from the hosts and Iran, the other teams that have already qualified are Japan, New Zealand and Argentina.
Jordan and Uzbekistan joined the party on June 5 and will be the debutants at next year's event.
Can Harambee Stars qualify for the World Cup?
In a related report, TUKO.co.ke explained how Harambee Stars can qualify for World Cup 2026.
Kenya can still mathematically qualify for the competition, but faces an uphill task after they lost to Gabon in March. Benni McCarthy's side are fourth in Group F behind Ivory Coast, Gabon and Burundi.
With six points and four games to go, the maximum number of points Harambee Stars can get is 18 points, which is only two less than Ivory Coast's current tally. The current number two is Gabon, who are three points shy of equalling the best number of points Kenya can get to.
Proofreading by Mercy Nyambura, copy editor at TUKO.co.ke.
Source: TUKO.co.ke
