The 2026 World Cup has been thrown into chaos following Donald Trump’s controversial decision to ban fans, including those from 15 competing nations from the tournament, MySportDab reports.
The tournament kicks off on June 11, 2026 and will be co-hosted by the USA, Mexico, and Canada. The United States have been scheduled to host most of the games (78 of the 104 matches), including all quarterfinal matches and onward, but fans of selected countries are now likely to miss the thrill.
According to Daily Mail, Trump has ordered the United States Department not to issue visas to fans from 75 countries yet as they reexamine procedures for screening applicants.
Out of the 75 countries, 15 have qualified for the tournament and are now expected to play in half-empty stadiums due to the directive.
Competition’s heavyweights and perennial contenders Brazil are among the countries affected. Full list of competing nations affected as shared below shows majority of African teams will be without their fans.
Some of these countries are Egypt, Algeria, Cape Verde, Senegal, Ivory Coast, including Tunisia.
List of countries affected by the visa restrictions
Algeria, Cape Verde, Colombia, Cote d’Ivoire, Egypt, Ghana, Iran, Jordan, Senegal, Tunisia, Uruguay and Uzbekistan.
At the time of filing this report, the USA State department have yet to respond to queries from journalists on the new policy.
World football governing body FIFA have also yet to react to the development, that could effectively castrate the tournament the buzz and hysteria from the fans – who are the major backbone of the game.
Meanwhile, it is understood this move follows Trump’s larger anti-immigration policy and visa bans on ‘restricted countries.’