ANOTHER break for club football arrives on the back of one of the most memorable international windows of World Cup qualifying around the globe.

Close to home, Scotland and Ireland each produced dramatic moments in their quest to reach the tournament in North America next year, as Steve Clarke’s side progressed in heroic fashion against Denmark, and a Troy Parrott-inspired victory against Hungary secured a place in the playoffs for Ireland, where they will face the Czech Republic.

Those two massive moments meant that an impressive win for Wales, 7-1 against North Macedonia, went under the radar somewhat. Craig Bellamy’s team joined Ireland in the playoffs, where they face Bosnia and Herzegovina, while Northern Ireland got by far the toughest draw — Italy.

There were stories all over the world in the various regions of qualifying, but one of the most notable is that of Haiti, who reached the tournament for the first time since 1974.

They did so against a backdrop of conflict and violence in their country, which forced them to play all their “home” games in the third round of qualifying in the Concacaf region in the capital of Curacao, Willemstad.

Domestic club football in Haiti has only recently returned after strife in the country, especially in the capital, Port-au-Prince, forced the 2020/21 season to be abandoned and the league to be paused for three years.

The league now avoids the capital city by hosting the competition in various other regions, and so far, they have been able to complete this new “Special D1 Championship” in 2024 and 2025.

Sports can understandably be viewed as unimportant when there are so many more serious issues affecting a country, but for a short moment last week, Port-au-Prince witnessed jovial scenes of celebration as people ignored advice to stay indoors and emerged onto the city’s streets with pride to revel in the country’s achievement.

Haiti’s qualification makes them the second team to reach the 2026 World Cup whose citizens are subject to an outright ban from travelling to one of the three tournament co-hosts, the United States. The other qualified team subject to the same travel ban is Iran, who are also on the list of 12 countries whose citizens cannot travel to the 2026 World Cup co-host.

Workarounds have been introduced for athletes from these countries, along with their families and supporting staff, with the 2026 World Cup and 2028 Los Angeles Olympics in mind.

The US included exemptions for “any athlete or member of an athletic team, including 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.”

Despite this, seven Iranian football delegates, including the president of the Iran Football Federation, Mehdi Taj, and the team’s head coach, Amir Ghalenoei, were denied visas to travel to the US to attend the World Cup draw next month.

The Tehran Times reported the story and also indicated that Taj has a good relationship with Fifa president Gianni Infantino, which may help resolve the issue, but it’s an indication of how problematic this World Cup could be. Others experiencing problems will be unable to reach out to Infantino in this manner.

Fifa recently announced a system which will give anyone with World Cup tickets a fast track to a US visa appointment in their respective country, but this won’t apply to Iranians and Haitians, who will likely meet obstacles due to their countries being on that list of 12.

Fifa desperately needed to introduce some sort of US visa process for the tournament, though.

If fans were left to navigate the US visa system as it currently exists, those from numerous nations would not have been able to secure their paperwork in time due to restrictions on citizens from many countries entering the US and long waiting times, which in some cases are years.

The attempt at a solution came late in the day, but unlike previous tournaments in Russia and Qatar, where a ticket, or its accompanying Fan ID, doubled as a visa, this will not be the case in the United States. A ticket to the 2026 World Cup merely promises a priority appointment and doesn’t guarantee that a visa will be issued.

Club teams and supporters from Haiti already have experience with such issues from their games in the Concacaf Champions Cup, the region’s Champions League equivalent.

In 2022, Cavalry AS were forced to withdraw from the competition after their team failed to secure US visas to travel to Massachusetts for a game against New England Revolution, while in 2023, Violette AC struggled to assemble a team to face Austin FC in Texas for similar reasons.

Now, fans will unlikely be able to travel to see their nation take part in their first World Cup since 1974. For many, it would be the first time in their lifetime that such an opportunity has presented itself, and in their home region no less.

Haiti and Iran could play some games in Mexico or Canada, both of which would be more accessible, but even then, fans, regardless of their nation or the ease with which they can enter World Cup host countries, are met with another obstacle — extortionate ticket prices.

The argument that certain parts of the United States already have a significant Haitian presence, so the team will be well supported there, misses the point. If fans are banned from travelling to a World Cup host country simply due to their nationality, then that country is not fit to host the tournament.

As Infantino himself said in 2017: “It’s obvious when it comes to Fifa competitions, that any team — including the supporters and officials of that team — who qualify for a World Cup, need to have access to the country, otherwise there is no World Cup.”

Last week, Infantino reiterated his claim that this will be “the most inclusive World Cup in history,” but from ticket prices to gaining entry to one of the host countries, it is a very exclusive tournament for the majority of football fans.