US creating priority visa system for FIFA World Cup ticket holders: Trump

By Hadriana Lowenkron and Skylar Woodhouse

 

President Donald Trump said the US is creating a priority visa system for 2026 FIFA World Cup ticket holders, an effort to handle the large number of visitors expected for the soccer event. 

Trump on Monday touted the creation of a “prioritized appointment scheduling system” which he said would allow World Cup ticket holders facing long wait-times for visas to speed up that process. 

 

Under the initiative, led by the US State Department, fans holding a ticket purchased through FIFA would get priority access to visa interviews, according to a release from the international soccer organisation. The priority interviews are expected to be available in early 2026.

 

The president said the departments of State and Homeland Security had worked to “ensure that soccer fans from all around the world are properly vetted and able to come to the United States next summer easily.”

 

Next year’s World Cup, the first hosted by three countries — the US, Mexico and Canada — offers to draw large numbers of spectators, including international fans, and deliver an economic windfall to host cities.

 

“I think safety and security is the number-one priority for a successful World Cup,” said FIFA President Gianni Infantino, who joined Trump in the Oval Office Monday.

 

The president’s comments followed a meeting of the White House task force on the World Cup, a group created to handle the logistical and security challenges surrounding the premier showcase for international soccer. The task force, established via executive order, is focused on coordinating various federal agencies in the planning, organization and execution of the tournament. Trump installed himself as chair and Vice President JD Vance as vice chair, with Andrew Giuliani, son of ally Rudy Giuliani, as the executive director.

 

An avid sports fan who has already attended numerous premier sporting events since returning to office, Trump has involved himself in the planning, regularly touting the upcoming event. And FIFA has used the upcoming showcase for international soccer to expand its own footprint in the US.

 

While the president has said he will facilitate travel and visa access for World Cup teams, critics have expressed concerns that an immigration crackdown and efforts to expand federal policing of Democratically controlled cities will undermine that pledge. Last month, Trump threatened moving World Cup games out of Boston and the 2028 Olympics from Los Angeles if he thought the cities were not adequately prepared or if he deemed them unsafe.

 

Trump has also sparred with the other host nations over trade, and last month cut off talks with Canada after he was angered by an ad from Ontario’s government targeting his tariff policies.

 

The president reiterated those threats on Monday and, when asked what his timeline would be for making such a decision, said that he would be willing to help cities that asked him for troops to maintain order.

 

“You know, the governors are going to have to behave. The mayors are going to have to behave. You know, in the case of California, you have a problem, you have high crime, then you have a place that just suffered great fires and everything else, and they didn’t do a very good job,” he added, referring to Los Angeles.

 

“I love Los Angeles. If they want help during this, I would love to send in National Guard or whoever is necessary to help them. I want it to be great. I’d love it to be in Los Angeles,” Trump said.

 

Monday’s task force meeting comes ahead of next month’s draw to determine the match-ups for the tournament’s group stage. The draw will be held at the Kennedy Center, another institution that Trump has sought to put his mark on. 

 

The US president has long had a warm relationship with FIFA’s Infantino, hosting him at the White House multiple times and earlier this year attending the FIFA Club World Cup final at MetLife Stadium. 

 

FIFA opened an office in Trump Tower in June, with Eric Trump, executive vice-president of the Trump Organization and son of the US president, attending the event. That followed the 2024 opening of a FIFA office in Miami, Florida, which is home to the organization’s legal division.