President Donald Trump‘s decision to ban travel to the United States from 12 countries and partially restrict the entry of citizens from seven other nations would have an exemption in the case of athletes participating in the upcoming Club World Cup, as well as the 2026 World Cup or the 2028 Olympic Games.
According to the mandate, entry to the United States will be totally restricted for citizens of Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, Democratic Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen.
In addition, access to the country will be partially restricted for citizens of Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan and Venezuela.
However, in section 4 of the issued order, there is an exemption that athletes could subscribe to and which states that “any athlete or member of a sports team, including coaches, persons performing a necessary support role and immediate family members, travelling for the World Cup, the Olympic Games 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 organisation had lobbied for the exception to be approved
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