Fans fear U.S. visa rules could keep them from World Cup
Fans from countries with long U.S. visa waits say the World Cup’s promise of open access collides with a system that may still shut them out.
Supporters hoping to follow the 2026 FIFA World Cup across North America are already confronting a harder reality than the tournament’s global branding suggests. FIFA says a ticket will not guarantee a visa or admission, and for many fans traveling to U.S. venues, entry rules may prove as decisive as the draw itself.
The tournament will stretch across 48 teams and 104 matches in Canada, Mexico and the United States, with 11 of the 16 host cities in the United States. FIFA says more than seven million fans are expected to attend, but that scale also means most international visitors will have to navigate U.S. immigration rules before they can reach a stadium.
FIFA has urged ticket holders to apply for visas as early as possible because processing times can be long. It has also launched FIFA PASS, a voluntary opt-in system for World Cup ticket holders traveling to the United States that offers a prioritized visa interview appointment. FIFA says the program is most useful for fans in countries where U.S. visa interview wait times are currently longer, while fans from Visa Waiver Program countries or places where open interview slots are already available do not need it.
The arrangement underscores the contradiction at the center of the tournament: a competition marketed as the most inclusive World Cup in history, yet one that will still filter access through national visa rules. FIFA says it wants the process to be smooth and simple, and it points to the 2025 Club World Cup, when fans came to the United States from 164 countries without major problems, as evidence that large-scale entry can work.
Still, the stakes are unusually high because the biggest matches will be staged on U.S. soil. The final is scheduled for July 19, 2026, in New York New Jersey, and the opening match is set for June 11, 2026, in Mexico City. The final draw took place in Washington, DC, on December 5, and FIFA says the co-hosts and 12 groups are now set.
The FIFA PASS announcement came at the White House in November 2025, with Donald Trump, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem and FIFA President Gianni Infantino present. That setting made plain that World Cup access will not be shaped by sport alone, but by the same U.S. immigration system that many supporters fear could keep them away from the stands.
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