The United States desires to host the World Cup in 2026 will be terribly hindered if President Trumps travel restrictions come to uninhibited fruition, Europes top soccer official said.
According to the New York Times, “Aleksander Ceferin, installed last year as president of the Union of European Football Association (UEFA), the sports governing body in Europe, said measures that might prevent players, fans or journalists from attending the event would count against any bid. The United States is a favorite to be awarded the 2026 tournament, either on its own or as part of a joint North American bid with Mexico and Canada.
But in an interview at UEFAs headquarters last week, Mr. Ceferin said immigration policy would be among the areas considered during the evaluation of a United States bid, and he suggested that it would not help if Mr. Trump succeeded in placing harsher restrictions on travel to the United States from certain countries in the near term.
Though Mr. Trumps initial 90-day ban on immigration and travel from seven Muslim-majority countries was overturned by a federal court, he has vowed to introduce a second executive order that could limit travel from those nations, at least temporarily.”
It will be part of the evaluation, and I am sure it will not help the United States to get the World Cup, Mr. Ceferin said. If players cannot come because of political decisions, or populist decisions, then the World Cup cannot be played there. It is true for the United States, but also for all the other countries that would like to organize a World Cup.
Trump strikes again.
His selling point during the election was his ability to keep jobs here and improve the economy. Losing the World Cup, which would bring hundreds of millions of dollars into the U.S. and provide jobs for citizens, because of an overzealous, oppressive and intolerant travel ban is further proof of Donald Trumps short sightedness and inability to lead our country to the prosperity it desires.
The World Cup, an all-inclusive tournament is putting the USA on notice. Lets see if Trump is at least smart enough to wait until the World Cup ends to attempt any travel ban. The recent detainment of Muhammad Ali Jr. was embarrassing enough.
