The geopolitics around 2026 keep shifting. Iran's players were granted US visas while much of their support staff was reportedly refused; Washington dropped a $15,000 visa bond for fans from five qualified African nations carrying match tickets; and fans from Iran and Haiti remain largely barred. A 'unity' tournament keeps tripping over its own borders.
The pattern from last winter — covered when the travel ban first hit four qualified nations — has only grown more tangled. Letting players in but not their physios and analysts is the kind of half-measure that satisfies no one and inflames everyone.
The African-bond reprieve — for ticket-holding fans from Algeria, Cape Verde, Côte d'Ivoire, Senegal and Tunisia — is genuine relief for some. For Iranian and Haitian supporters, the door stays mostly shut. The football promised to be borderless; the paperwork keeps insisting otherwise, a backdrop that also shadows Africa's record ten-team contingent.
A World Cup sells itself as the world united. The visa queue is where that slogan goes to be cross-examined.
Three host countries, three sets of rules, and a month of fixtures to expose every seam.
Sources: Wikipedia — 2026 controversies.