U.S. President Donald Trump briefly receives and admires the belt from heavyweight champion Jon Jones at the UFC 309 event held at Madison Square Garden in New York, USA in November 2024. Trump is a known fan of martial arts and professional wrestling. Next to him, Tesla CEO Elon Musk, with whom he had a good relationship at the time, appears to be clapping. The Trump administration imposed visa restrictions on 39 countries in December last year, but on January 15 this year, it decided to exclude athletes and coaches from major professional competitions such as the Olympics, World Cup, UFC, WWE, MLB, NBA, MLS, and F1 from this measure. [게티이미지]
[헤럴드경제=조용직 기자] The U.S. Donald Trump administration has decided to exempt athletes from various countries participating in major sports competitions from visa restrictions, including the 2026 North and Central American World Cup and the 2028 LA Olympics.
In a cable sent to all U.S. embassies and consulates around the world on the 15th (Korean time), the U.S. State Department stated that athletes, coaches and support personnel participating in the World Cup, the Olympics, and events sponsored or operated by numerous college and professional sports leagues and associations will not be subject to visa restrictions and travel bans.
According to AP News on the 16th, this cable included the message that “only a small percentage of people traveling for the World Cup, Olympics, Paralympics and other major sporting events will be exempt (from visa restrictions).” It clearly stated that foreign spectators, journalists and corporate sponsors will still be banned from attending sporting events unless they meet other exemptions.
The Trump administration has announced a series of immigration and travel bans and visa restrictions to tighten entry standards for foreigners into the United States. Additionally, we have been exploring ways to ensure that players, coaches and fans can attend major sporting events in the United States.
On December 16 last year, President Trump issued a proclamation banning the issuance of visas to 39 countries. At this time, an exception was made for athletes and staff participating in the World Cup, Olympics, and other major sporting events, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio was given the authority to determine the competitions to which exceptions apply.
According to today’s announcement, competitions exempt from visa restrictions for athletes include competitions hosted or approved by FIFA or its affiliated federations, such as the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games and the 2026 World Cup, and the Special Olympics, an athletic competition for the developmentally disabled.
It also applies to events hosted or sponsored by American professional sports leagues such as NFL, NBA, WBA, MLB, NHL, PWH, NASCAR, F1, PGA, LPGA, LIV Golf, UFC, and WWE.
Countries banned from issuing visas include 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 the Palestinian Authority.
A partial entry ban is in effect for citizens of Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Benin, Burundi, Cuba, and Dominica.
