Travel Ban Worries Mount For 2026 World Cup After Venezuela Visa Denials

Fears over US travel visas for the 2026 World Cup in the USA, Mexico and Canada have been heightened after a Little League baseball team from Venezuela was denied visas to travel to the U.S. for a major tournament.

Venezuela is one of seven countries that face a partial travel suspension under the ban.

The Cacique Mara Little League team was failed to obtain the correct visas needed to enter the country for the Senior League Baseball World Series, which is being played this week in Greenville, South Caroline. The tournament is for teams with players aged 13–16.

The team had travelled from Venezuela to Colombia two weeks ago to apply for visas at the US embassy in Bogotá.

“It is a mockery on the part of Little League to keep us here in Bogotá with the hope that our children can fulfill their dreams of participating in a world championship,” the team said in a statement. “What do we do with so much injustice, what do we do with the pain that was caused to our children?”

Cacique Mara has been replaced by the Santa María de Aguayo team from Mexico who lost the Latin American championship game. The US state department said it was reviewing the case to “confirm proper procedures were followed and necessary appeals were submitted by the visa applicants.”

One of the exceptions listed in the US travel ban is for “athletes, coaches, support staff, and immediate relatives of athletes participating in major sporting events such as the World Cup and Olympics, or other major sporting events”. Though, of course, team applicants still are at the mercy of the US system that does not automatically qualify athletes and team staff for entry.

In the past Cuban players have frequently been denied entry for the Concacaf Gold Cup, an issue that pre-dates both Trump administrations.

The sports exemption to the travel ban does not apply to fans, or to friends and family who want to travel for events.

Venezuela, currently occupy the inter-confederation play-off slot in Conmebol qualifying for the 2026 World Cup.

Iran are on the full travel ban list and were one of the first qualifiers for 2026.

In African 2026 qualifying DR Congo are on the full travel ban list and leading their group, while Sierra Leone are in the second qualification place in their group and are on the partial travel suspension list.

In June the Trump administration added a potential 36 additional countries to the travel ban list unless they improve their citizens travel documentation and act to address the status of their nationals who are in the US illegally.

This was in addition to the existing travel ban on citizens from 12 countries (that covers DR Congo and Iran) and imposed restrictions on the seven others (that impacts Venezuela).

Nine countries on the lists are either qualified or in pole position to qualify for the 2026 World Cup.

Most of the countries on the latest advisory list are in Africa.

2026 qualification for the nine African slots is currently at its mid-point in its group stage with all nine group winners going through to the World Cup finals. Currently four countries on Trump’s list, with Egypt and Ghana being added to DR Congo and Ivory Coast who were already on the travel restriction list.

A further five countries on the additional list – Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Gabon, Senegal and Tanzania – are currently second in their qualifying groups and could at minimum qualify for the inter-confederation play-off spots.

This means a total of six of CAF’s automatic qualification slots could go to nations on the USA’s current travel ban list, plus any African winner of the play-off.

Insideworldfootball.com