As soaked Senegal fans celebrated winning the Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco, many quickly turned their thoughts to the World Cup opener against France on June 16 at New Jersey Stadium — also set to host the final. While France’s large Senegalese diaspora in France may travel, supporters holding only Senegalese passports will be barred from entering the US.
Senegal and Ivory Coast were added last December to a US travel ban list enacted under the Trump administration. Singom Dadji Ngam, a Senegal fan and social media personality, told DW the measure was excessive. “The team can’t play without its supporters — and there are some really fervent supporters who accompany the team everywhere at all times,” he said, noting it primarily affects those who hold only national passports and most faithfully follow qualifying matches.
The US says the ban, lighter than restrictions on some other countries, responds to high overstay rates on B1/B2 visitor visas — about 4% for Senegal and 8% for Ivory Coast — and cites “screening and vetting deficiencies.” Aside from those two African sides, fans from Haiti and Iran will not be able to travel to the US under even stricter rules. The Democratic Republic of the Congo — also blacklisted — could still qualify via playoffs. Players and coaching staff have been granted exceptions, but fans have not. A separate recent visa suspension affecting immigrants from 75 countries also names Senegal, Ivory Coast, Haiti, DR Congo and Iran.
Other qualifying nations have worried about being targeted; Colombia and co-host Mexico have drawn recent US scrutiny, and Denmark’s fraught relations over Greenland could make them vulnerable if they reach the US-hosted knockout rounds (Denmark’s group games are in Mexico).
FIFA has offered limited help, reminding supporters that a match ticket “does not guarantee admission to a host country” while noting it received some 500 million ticket applications from all 211 member associations. That offers little comfort to fans who have spent time and money following their teams. One Senegal supporter told DW his country should boycott the tournament in protest. “If we’re not accepted as supporters, our teams shouldn’t go and neither should we as supporters,” he said. “We are the strength of these competitions. Without spectators, there’s no one. Without spectators, there is no sport, there is no entertainment.”
Cost is another barrier. Outside a tiny allocation of low-priced tickets, World Cup prices are reportedly about five times higher than in Qatar 2022. Football Supporters Europe estimated that, excluding the small reduced-ticket tranche, fans would face paying nearly €7,000 ($8,000) to secure tickets for all of their team’s matches from the first game to the final. “Football is a popular sport and it should be accessible to everyone,” an Ivory Coast fan said. “Disparities like this are not right. We’re really not happy because what Trump has done is disgraceful. It’s killing football.”
Edited by: Jonathan Harding