On December 5 2025, the draws for the World Cup 2026, hosted in the United States, Mexico, and Canada, were done. This ceremony decides which countries play which in the group stages of the tournament.
Recently, fans of Iran and Haiti, countries already qualified to the World Cup, have been hit with travel bans to the United States, limiting fans’ ability to see their country play in the tournament. Rules of the International Federation of Football Associations (FIFA) state that the host country cannot restrict fans from a participating country, but U.S. President Donald Trump ignored the rule. Iran will be playing against Egypt at Lumen Field in Seattle on June 26, 2026.
A Skyline student planning to attend the game said that, “banning Iranian [fans] gives an advantage to Egypt as they will have more support during the game, which harms the overall integrity of the game,” adding that “this is a dangerous sign and we should be vigilant in spotting things like this.”
“One of the best parts about attending a sports game is seeing how the fans interact with each other. Banning [supporters] from coming takes that experience away from us,” he said.
For many years now, soccer fans around the world have been questioning if FIFA truly are making decisions about the tournaments with the intention of making soccer better or just using the competition as a political chip, fulfilling politicians and leaders’ personal agendas.
One student said, “Politicians implementing their personal agendas [in tournaments] is a terrible idea. Sports and politics are two completely separate things, and combining them is dangerous.”
As student Alex D. explained, “The game in general is going to become more tense as politics begin to bleed into [soccer], [but] the World Cup could also become a symbol of peace and order.”
During the trophy ceremony of the FIFA Club World Cup this year, Trump was seen alongside the winning Chelsea players while FIFA President Gianni Infantino tried to usher him off the podium. Chelsea midfielder Cole Palmer later said that he “knew [Trump] was going to be [in the stadium]” but “was a bit confused” that he joined in the celebrations.
In 2018, during the bid for the World Cup 2026, which decides which countries host the World Cup, Trump tweeted that “The U.S. has put together a STRONG bid w/ Canada & Mexico for the 2026 World Cup. It would be a shame if countries that we always support were to lobby against the U.S. bid (internal corruption!). Why should we be supporting these countries when they don’t support us (including at the United Nations)?” This tweet goes against FIFA’s rule of not allowing direct government involvement in bids.
The travel bans on Haiti and Iran garnered support among Republicans. Kristi Noem from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security suggested a “full travel ban on every damn country that’s been flooding our nation with killers, leeches, and entitlement junkies.”
One Skyline student described this statement as “incredibly harmful and insensitive,” while another “felt offended characterizing a group of people based on unfactual, false, and racist stereotypes,” calling it “disgusting.”
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