WHEN Fifa president Gianni Infantino spoke to reporters following a Fifa executive summit in London in March 2017, a question was posed around the United States’ suitability to host a World Cup given travel bans its new president, Donald Trump, had just placed on people from several countries.

At that time it was not yet known who would host the World Cup in 2026, but there was a distinct possibility that the United States would bid, and just a month later, a united bid from the US, Mexico and Canada was confirmed and later won the right to host.

Trump had just begun his first term as US president and had issued an executive order banning entry to the US from Iran, Sudan, Syria, Somalia, Yemen and Libya.

Infantino was asked about the issue at the time and responded clearly, saying that if teams and supporters couldn’t access a country, there would be no World Cup there.

“We are now in the process of defining the bid requirements,” Infantino said in 2017. “In the world, there are many countries that have bans, travel bans, visa requirements and so on and so forth. 

“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.

“The requirements will be clear. And then each country can make up their decision, whether they want to bid or not, based on the requirements.”

Fast forward to 2025, and Trump’s travel bans have escalated and could seriously affect the 2026 World Cup, and conflict with Infantino’s statement in 2017.

Trump’s latest travel ban, in the works at the beginning of his second term and enacted on Wednesday, goes much further than the one Infantino was supposedly worried about in 2017, banning travel to the US from 12 countries with restrictions on seven more.

These days, Infantino doesn’t appear to be taking questions from reporters on any subject, not least on an issue in which he is on the record as stating that if not complied with by a host country, there would be no World Cup there.

As per Wednesday’s proclomation from the White House, the latest travel bans issued by Trump “fully restrict and limit the entry of nationals of the following 12 countries: Afghanistan, Burma, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen.”

Seven more countries — Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan, and Venezuela — are partially restricted.

Of these countries, Iran has already qualified for the 2026 World Cup via the Asian qualifying section, while Sudan is one of the African countries listed that also has a realistic chance of qualifying. Venezuela could qualify from the South American section, while Cuba and Haiti could do so from Concacaf.

There was initially a worry that these travel bans would prevent teams from participating in the World Cup at all, but the White House proclamation lists exceptions for the 2026 World Cup, the 2028 Summer Olympics, and “other major sporting events.”

The relevant section reads: “The suspension of and limitation on entry pursuant to sections 2 and 3 of this proclamation shall not apply to any athlete or member of an athletic team, including coaches, persons performing a necessary support role, and immediate relatives, traveling for the World Cup, Olympics, or other major sporting event as determined by the Secretary of State.”

The immediate issues arising from this are that it only applies to athletes and team staff, and close relatives, so fans from those countries, or even friends and extended family of players or staff from the listed countries, will still not be able to enter the US.

This goes against Infantino’s 2017 statement that “supporters … of that team who qualify for a World Cup, need to have access to the country, otherwise there is no World Cup.”

It also raises the question of what is considered a “major sporting event,” especially as the Club World Cup and Concacaf Gold Cup will be held in the United States this summer.

Neither is mentioned specifically as a “major event,” and when Infantino has commented on the Club World Cup in Trump’s presence, it appears that the US president is not clear on the difference between that and the 2026 World Cup, often reacting as if Infantino is only speaking about the latter.

One of the 12 nations on the banned list, Haiti, has qualified for the Gold Cup, which is the region’s equivalent of the Euros and the Copa America.

Even if the Gold Cup is confirmed as a major event, any fans looking to travel from Haiti will not be granted entry to the US.

If it is not confirmed as a major event, Haiti’s participation itself is in question.

A quote from Infantino on Fifa’s website reads: “Fifa’s vision is to make football truly global, diverse and inclusive, for the benefit of the entire world.” 

The Fifa president's comments in 2017, that if a host country doesn’t allow supporters to travel to a country to attend a World Cup, there will be no World Cup there, backed up that sentiment.

Now that the US has effectively banned supporters from numerous countries from attending the 2026 World Cup, including some whose teams will qualify for the tournament, will that sentiment remain, and will it be enforced?