The ban on Donald Trump’s trips undermines the vision of the Gianni Infantino World Cup

Gianni Infantino could not have been more categorical when going on stage at the FIFA congress in Asuncion, in Paraguay, last month.

A meeting had taken place with The White House working group in the previous days, and insurance had apparently been given that hardening of immigration policies would not have a price for the Imminent Club World Cup and the 2026 World Cup.

“The world is welcome in America,” said Infantino, longtime president of FIFA. “Of course, the players, of course, all the people involved, all of us, but also certainly all fans.”

Infantino could well have held this promise in good faith, but it did not take long for this joyfully optimistic assessment to seem wrong.

Any notion of welcome to the world must now wear an awkward asterisk.

A ban on traveling against 12 countries was signed by US President Donald Trump on Wednesday, interrupting movement in the United States for those who are considered high-risk territories. Citizens of Afghanistan, Myanmar (Burma), Chad, the Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen will be prohibited from entering the United States from Monday.

“Nothing will prevent us from keeping America safe,” said Trump in a video announcing the decree.

And above all, it seems, a World Cup that the United States will share with the neighbors of Canada and Mexico next summer.

Although the new decision will continue to allow entry to athletes, coaches and support staff who attend major sporting events – initially, only the World Cup and the Olympic Games were specifically cited, but the White House clarified for Athletics Thursday, that the Club World Cup and the Gold Cup of Concacaf also enter this category – fans will not be granted to the entrance. Only “immediate parents” of people involved can hope to be exempt.

Trump described his reasons, rooted in national security, but the change in policy has given FIFA and Infantino a headache.

Iran is already assured of a place during the 2026 finalsExtending a race that saw them going to Brazil (2014), Russia (2018) and Qatar (2022). A fourth consecutive qualification was obtained in March with a 2-2 draw against Uzbekistan.

Head coach Amir Ghalenoei and his players, including Inter Milan striker Mehdi Taremi, will be allowed to enter the United States, but the first indications are that their supporters will not.

Fans of Haiti, whose only previous experience in the World Cup came to the 1974 tournament in Germany, would also be subject to travel prohibitions if their team was going to continue their promising qualification campaign at the Concacaf, just like Libya if they bother the chances and qualify as nine African teams when this process is concluded in the fall.

Infantino is now found in a diplomatic pickle. A close relationship with Trump And his administration was supposed to have his advantages, smoothing the way to the first 104 games to play in the United States, Canada and Mexico in a year and in a week.

The link has been projected several times, with Infantino even a guest at the inauguration of Trump. He delayed his arrival at the above -mentioned FIFA Congress because he wanted to be with Trump during his visits to Qatar and Saudi Arabia – a decision that made the members of the European delegation Leave the event early to protest.

But now Infantino is faced with a policy that threatens to undermine the values ​​of a World Cup which he has so often defended.

“It is obvious with regard to FIFA competitions, any team, including supporters and managers of this team, who qualify for a World Cup need to have access to the country, otherwise there is no World Cup,” said journalists in 2017, a year that had seen Trump Ban of traveling from a number of predominant Muslim countries said.

Inference was that any country that did not want to open its doors to all supporters could be prevented from welcoming a World Cup. Fans of all competing countries were welcome in Russia and then in Qatar, two countries without the reputation of the United States’s freedom and opening. Iran was one of those who are supported by thousands of their supporters during the two tournaments.

Infantino had been convinced that the United States would not be different, but the guarantees he told the world that FIFA has since disappeared since the disappearance.

Trump said it was time to change before next summer with the list of prohibited nations “subject to a revision according to the realization of material improvements”. The fact that the world club and the Cup of the Gold, both from this month, were now included in the list of “major” sporting events could also indicate a desire to add flexibility to a hard position.

It is nevertheless a problem that will take a little rotation. Either Infantino knew the ban on travel and his implications were in the position, but I simply did not want to leave his public comments last month, or the capricious nature of Trump took another ally supposed to devoid. The latter feels more likely, but still does not reflect well in Infantino after all the meetings, gifts and photos of photos of the last six months.

Infantino remains that the most popularly political animal that maintains politics has no place in the harmonious little world of football. However, Trump’s change of equipment on immigration is a reminder of how this vision is as fanciful as ever.

(Top Photo: Anna Moneymaker / Getty Images)