At a Glance
- The State Department will allow athletes, coaches and support staff from 39 banned countries to enter the U.S. for major sporting events.
- Foreign spectators, media and corporate sponsors remain barred unless they qualify for a separate exemption.
- The list covers the 2026 World Cup, 2028 Olympics and hundreds of leagues from the NFL to LIV Golf.
- Why it matters: Global competitions can proceed without disruption, but fans and broadcast crews face new hurdles.
The Trump administration has quietly carved out a sweeping exemption to its travel ban on nearly 40 countries, allowing athletes, coaches and essential staff to compete in American stadiums and arenas while barring foreign spectators and media crews.
A diplomatic cable sent Wednesday to every U.S. embassy and consulate lays out which contests qualify as “major sporting events,” a designation that frees participants from visa restrictions that otherwise block citizens of 39 countries and Palestinian Authority passport holders.
Who Gets In-and Who Doesn’t
Only competitors, coaches, trainers and other support personnel attached to the listed events may receive visas. The cable stresses that “only a small subset of travelers for the World Cup, Olympics and Paralympics, and other major sporting events will qualify for the exception.”
Everyone else-fans, journalists, sponsors-must still clear the same hurdles imposed by the Dec. 16 proclamation that suspended visa issuance across the affected nations.
Events on the Safe List
The exemption covers:
- All competitions and qualifiers for the Olympic Games, Paralympic Games, Pan-American Games and Para Pan-American Games
- Events hosted, sanctioned or recognized by any U.S. National Governing Body
- All Special Olympics competitions and qualifiers
- Official FIFA fixtures, including 2026 World Cup matches and continental qualifiers
- Tournaments staged by the International Military Sports Council and the International University Sports Federation
- NCAA championships and regular-season contests
- Professional league play for:
- NFL, NBA, WNBA, MLB, NHL
- NASCAR, Formula 1
- PGA, LPGA, LIV Golf
- Major League Rugby, Major League Soccer
- WWE, UFC, All Elite Wrestling
- Little League
Additional leagues may be added later, the cable notes.
Countries Still Barred
A full travel ban applies to:
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, Yemen and Palestinian Authority passport holders.
A partial ban affects:
Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Benin, Burundi, Cuba, Dominica, Gabon, Gambia, Ivory Coast, Malawi, Mauritania, Senegal, Tanzania, Tonga, Togo, Venezuela, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
Delegation to Rubio
President Trump’s December order tasked Secretary of State Marco Rubio with deciding which sporting events merited waivers. Wednesday’s cable fulfills that directive, ensuring that leagues and federations can lock in travel plans for the coming years.
The administration has framed the broader visa clampdown as a security measure while simultaneously pledging to keep marquee American events accessible to top athletic talent.
Task Force for 2028 Olympics
Separately, Trump signed an executive order creating a White House Task Force to coordinate federal preparation for the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. The panel will oversee security, transportation and infrastructure projects tied to the Games.
Key Takeaways
- Athletes and essential staff from banned nations can enter the U.S. if they compete in the listed events.
- Fans, media and sponsors from the same countries remain subject to the ban.
- The list spans global spectacles like the World Cup and Olympics down to collegiate championships and pro-league regular seasons.
- Additional events may be added, leaving room for future expansion.
James O Connor Fields reported these details after reviewing the State Department cable, first disclosed by News Of Philadelphia.
