The Trump administration has recently finalized a list designating a series of sports events as “major sporting events,” allowing athletes, coaches, and accompanying support staff to travel to the United States to participate in these events without being restricted by the visa ban imposed on nearly 40 countries.
According to reports by the Associated Press, the U.S. State Department has sent a cable this week to all U.S. embassies abroad, stating that athletes, coaches, and support staff participating in the World Cup, Olympics, as well as sports events sanctioned or organized by numerous collegiate athletics leagues, professional sports leagues, and associations, will not be subject to the broad or partial travel bans imposed on citizens of 39 countries and the Palestinian Authority.
However, the cable explicitly states that foreign spectators, media, and corporate sponsors planning to attend these events in the U.S. will still be prohibited from entry unless they meet other exemption criteria.
The cable stated, “Only a small number of travelers participating in the World Cup, Olympics, Paralympics, and other major sporting events are eligible for this exception.”
The Trump administration has implemented a series of immigration and travel bans, as well as other visa restriction measures, as part of its efforts to tighten entry standards for foreigners. At the same time, the administration is working to ensure that athletes, coaches, and fans can participate in major sporting events held in the United States.
On December 16 last year, President Trump issued an announcement prohibiting the issuance of visas to citizens of 39 countries and the Palestinian Authority, but included exceptions for athletes and staff participating in the World Cup, Olympics, and other major sporting events. The announcement authorized Secretary of State Marco Rubio to determine which other sports events could be covered by this exception.
The State Department’s cable lists the events applicable for the exemption, including: Olympics, Paralympics, Pan American Games, Pan American Para Games “all events and qualifying matches”; events organized, approved, or sanctioned by the U.S. National Governing Bodies; all events and qualifying matches of the Special Olympics; and official events and competitions organized or recognized by FIFA or its affiliated associations.
The exemption also encompasses official events and competitions organized or recognized by the International Military Sports Council, International University Sports Federation, National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), and U.S. professional sports leagues, such as the National Football League (NFL), National Basketball Association (NBA), Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA), Major League Baseball (MLB) and Little League, National Hockey League (NHL), Professional Women’s Hockey League, NASCAR, Formula One World Championship (F1), Professional Golfers’ Association (PGA), Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA), LIV Golf, Major League Rugby (MLR), Major League Soccer (MLS), World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), and All Elite Wrestling (AEW), among others.
The cable notes that more events and leagues may be added to the list in the future.
Within the 39 countries, the U.S. enforces a comprehensive travel ban on citizens from the following countries: Afghanistan, Burkina Faso, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Laos, Libya, Mali, Myanmar, Niger, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Sudan, South Sudan, Syria, and Yemen.
Additionally, a comprehensive travel ban applies to individuals holding passports issued by the Palestinian Authority.
Partial travel bans are imposed on citizens from the following countries: Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Benin, Burundi, Cuba, Dominica, Gabon, The Gambia, Ivory Coast, Malawi, Mauritania, Senegal, Tanzania, Tonga, Togo, Venezuela, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.