The World Cup visa mess has its roots in Gianni Infantino’s cosiness to President Trump

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The clues should have been there for FIFA.

Perhaps in the executive order, signed on President Donald Trump’s first day back in the White House, entitled Protecting the American People Against Invasion.

Perhaps in the travel bans, enacted against countries largely in the Middle East and Africa.

Perhaps in the requirements for travelers from 50 countries to pay up to $15,000 visa bond payments for business or tourist visas.

Perhaps in the pausing of immigrant visa applications to nationals of 75 countries.

Perhaps in Trump’s comments about Somalis, saying they should “go back to where they came from” and “their country is no good for a reason”.

To many, therefore, it is of little surprise that the World Cup’s opening week is dominated by a Somalian referee being turned away at Miami International Airport, or “many” Iranian and African journalists being denied the necessary U.S. visas, or Iran’s national team relocating its training base to Mexico.

For so long, Gianni Infantino, the FIFA president, has dismissed concerns and entirely legitimate media reporting on the matter. At the FIFA Congress in Paraguay in 2025, to which he turned up days late, prioritizing a jaunt with Trump to Qatar and Saudi Arabia, he told his audience “the world is welcome in America”.

“Of course, the players, everyone involved, but definitely also all the fans,” he said. “And let’s be clear about that: this doesn’t come from me, this comes from the American government.”

Later that summer, a South African journalist in Kenya told Infantino: “We are going to play in a country where some of us do not feel welcome. The onus is on you to make sure that Africa and all the other people of the world do not feel like outcasts, do not feel like they are being made second-class citizens in a world where equality should prevail.”

Infantino’s response? “There is a lot of misconception out there. Everyone will be welcome in Canada, Mexico and the United States for the FIFA World Cup next year. This process will be smooth, it will ensure that those that qualify will be able to come with their fans.”

This, it should be said, is a story first and foremost about U.S. government policy. For this, FIFA cannot be held responsible.

Yet it is caught in the crosshairs because of Infantino’s personal brand of hubris, where he regularly over-promises and under-delivers. As he did in Qatar four years ago, he has taken up the mantle of speaking on behalf of a host country, saying what will or won’t be welcome, leaving FIFA as accessories when things go wrong.

In recent days, some at FIFA have sought to diminish its responsibility, questioning how a mere soccer organization could be expected to override admissions into a host country.

For those of us who cover FIFA daily, this newly humble position comes as a shock. Infantino projects his organization as the planet’s healing force, his strapline is “Football Unites The World”.

He has made more public appearances in Trump’s Oval Office during Trump’s second term than any world political leader. He cloaked himself in MAGA red (wearing a red Republican tie to Trump’s pre-inauguration rally), making trips to Mar-A-Lago before attending the inauguration. He appeared to breach FIFA political neutrality rules, telling a conference that Americans “should all support what (Trump) is doing because it’s looking good”.

He opened an office in Trump Tower in Manhattan, meaning FIFA are paying rent to the Trump family business. Trump has had both the World Cup and Club World Cup living in his office. Infantino moved the World Cup draw in December to the Kennedy Center, despite advanced plans to hold a jamboree in Las Vegas, because Trump and his allies had taken over the performing arts center and suggested it as a venue. At the draw, FIFA hired Trump’s favorite singer, Andrea Bocelli, awarded him a Peace Prize, and then had the Village People sing Y.M.C.A, a MAGA anthem. Then he attended Trump’s Board of Peace events, an entity shunned by America’s NATO allies.

All that cosiness, all those photo-ops, but now FIFA wants the world to believe it is a modest soccer tournament, guests in a host nation, powerless to speak up for those who wish to participate or attend its tournament.

Which rather ignores that FIFA demands guarantees from any host nation to ensure the movement of people during competitions. In May 2018, during the bidding process for the World Cup in his first term, Trump wrote to Infantino and said he was confident that “all eligible athletes, officials and fans from all countries around the world would be able to enter the United States without discrimination” during the tournament.

The truth is that FIFA’s issues relating to visa access for this World Cup stretch back several years. They even precede the Trump administration. Even in the final year of President Joe Biden’s tenure, FIFA were encountering difficulties.

Host cities and the travel industry expressed significant concerns over extensive wait times for visa interviews, which came down because Congress set aside $50million to reduce backlogs under Biden. His administration were skeptical of FIFA, not affording Infantino any Oval Office meetings and, frankly, prioritizing more important matters like the war in Ukraine.

What FIFA perhaps never fully understood is that they could never be the ultimate priority in America, certainly not in the way Qatar saw FIFA’s World Cup competition as the ultimate nation-defining project. To the U.S., FIFA is a nice-to-have, which may make for a handy concession here or there. Yet as FIFA may discover once more, national security will always be America’s far-reaching priority, as Trump prepares a retaliation to an Iranian strike against a U.S. plane.

Yet Biden’s administration also had objections to FIFA’s expectations. For the previous World Cup in Qatar, visitors expedited their entry by applying for a Hayya card, effectively a fan pass for World Cup ticket-holders that doubled up as the visa for the tournament.

FIFA wanted a similar process for 2026, but this was rejected, largely due to global security concerns. The Americans rejected a suggestion by FIFA to introduce a Schengen-style pass for World Cup ticket-holders and teams that would enable visitors to have a single visa to attend the tournament across Canada, the U.S. and Mexico. Instead, the three host countries each have differing entry criteria. Government employees said comparisons with Qatar or prior hosts Russia were mistaken, because, they argued, those countries were not commonly deemed globally to be desirable places for people to seek permanent residence in the way that America has been.

That stringency only heightened when Trump returned. In early 2025, State Department employees, speaking anonymously to protect their jobs, told The Athletic there were fears within the agency that travel bans would be applied or threatened by the Trump administration against people from countries whose teams may be competing in the World Cup. This would limit the ability of supporters to attend the tournament. As of today, nationals of four World Cup countries — Senegal, Ivory Coast, Iran and Haiti — are under travel bans.

We also reported fears by these employees that a “non-insignificant” number of people who legitimately acquire tickets for the tournament would be refused visas altogether.

Behind the scenes, FIFA claimed some wins, but the substance has been small. Infantino was excited when Trump established a White House task force for the World Cup, run by Andrew Giuliani, the son of Trump’s former lawyer Rudy. In November, the FIFA PASS was signed off by the Trump administration, a process by which fans could expedite their visa appointments, but it did not provide any assurances of a visa. As of mid-May, only around 20,000 people had used the service.

Then the U.S. government secured a flurry of excited headlines, claiming it had dropped the visa bond requirements for fans with valid tickets, which applied to countries including Algeria, Tunisia and Cape Verde. But much of the reporting ignored the catch: the bonds were waived only for those who, by April 15, had both purchased World Cup tickets and enrolled in FIFA PASS, meaning only a few hundred fans actually benefited.

Many will be unfamiliar with the short reality of many visa appointment interviews. These take place at consulates across the world and usually last only a couple of minutes, during which they must convince U.S. officials of their legitimate reason for travel. Individuals need to show they have a residence abroad where they would be compelled to return, and it would also be beneficial to show solid employment and a past record of foreign travel.

On top of that, the political climate matters. Former consular officers have regularly told The Athletic over the past year that they expected denials from consular officers who would err on the side of caution, rather than being the official to make the mistake by allowing in an individual who may go on to overstay. These same sources suggested denials may be more common for those from the Middle East, Africa or South America, which is exactly what has played out in recent weeks.

Along the way, media has rarely been afforded the opportunity to ask Infantino questions about these challenges, or, indeed any others; whether they may be the growing scandals surrounding World Cup tickets, the attempts to prevent fans from taking a water bottle to stadiums, extortionate public transit pricing today, or, absurdly, the $79 FIFA will charge for “super shoutout” for a fan to get their name on the Jumbotron.

On Monday, FIFA hosted a press event at Central Park to announce a watch party. Infantino spoke, but, as so often, did not deign to take questions. He speaks more in proclamations — usually self-proclaimed victory laps via his own Instagram page. National federations around the world, eyeing up all the cash that FIFA will hand out from this tournament, also have little or nothing to say, even as fans are ripped off. Indeed, several confederations have already said they intend to vote for another term of Infantino, the man Trump calls “the king of soccer”.

Three days ago, Infantino was in Miami, addressing FIFA’s team of referees. “We want to give you the best environment, the best conditions,” Infantino said. “I’m on your side. We are here to back you.”

On the same day, Somalian referee Omar Abdulkadir Artan flew to Miami, but was taken aside by U.S. border officials, questioned overnight and denied entry to the country. White House director Giuliani told the BBC he believes it was the right decision, taken by Customs & Border Patrol upon arrival.

“I had the right papers and everything. I had the right visa,” Artan told the New York Times.

For now, that is all we know. As for FIFA having his back? Well, their special relationship was suddenly irrelevant.

“FIFA is not involved in host country immigration processes,” a FIFA spokesperson began.  “In line with previous FIFA events, a host government ultimately determines who receives a visa and who is admitted into their country.”