Donald Trump announced this Monday from the White House the creation of a “FIFA ticket” aimed at speeding up visa procedures for ticket holders for the 2026 World Cup (June 11-July 19) which is mainly being held in the United States.
Donald Trump’s highly aggressive migration policy since his return to the presidency has raised questions about the reception of millions of foreign spectators on American soil who are expected to watch the next soccer match, co-hosted by the United States, Mexico and Canada.
FIFA ticket holders coming from abroad for the 2026 World Cup in the US will get “priority” appointments for visas, President Trump said. A system called “FIFA Pass” will quickly track visa interviews for pass holders with help from the State Department. pic.twitter.com/4GwfNzXaeD
– New York Post (@nypost) November 18, 2025
The system presented Monday “will allow ticket holders to wait a long time (for their visa) to request a priority meeting,” Trump said, again accompanied by FIFA President Gianni Infantino.
“With this FIFA permissionwe can ensure that those who buy tickets, who are true football fans, will be able to come and watch the World Cup in the best conditions, starting with getting their visas,” said the latter, estimating “between five and ten million” the number of spectators from around the world expected for the competition.
“Visa is at the top”
“Your ticket is not a visa,” the American Secretary of State warned (Minister of Foreign Affairs)Marco Rubio. “It doesn’t guarantee you can get into America,” he said. This guarantees you an expedited appointment. You will still go through the same verification process. We will do the same checks as anyone else. The only difference is that we put it at the top of the pile. »
The American diplomacy chief also indicated that “400 additional consular agents” had been deployed around the world and, at certain embassies, staff had been “doubled”.
Since early June, the Trump administration has banned citizens from twelve countries, mostly from Africa or the Middle East, from entering the United States and imposed restrictions on seven other countries. At that time, the White House assured that the teams participating in the 2026 World Cup would not be affected.
Due to a lack of visas, the Senegalese women’s basketball team had to give up their training camp in the United States at the end of June. Sixteen host cities, including eleven in the United States, are scheduled to host the first 48-team World Cup in history.
