US border crackdown no threat to 2026 World Cup: football chief

by Rob Woollard

CONCACAF football chief Victor Montagliani played down concerns over a US border crackdown impacting the 2026 World Cup on Thursday, following a flurry of recent cases involving foreign visitors who have been detained or deported after attempting to enter the United States.

Montagliani, the president of the Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF) told AFP he was confident any issues regarding US border policy would be resolved in time for next year's 48-team tournament, which is being co-hosted by the USA, Canada and Mexico.

ALSO READ:The new guy in charge of USAID doesn't believe in foreign aid

Montagliani said the concerns raised by recent cases at the border -- which have included visitors from countries such as France, Germany and Britain -- were understandable.

But the CONCACAF chief, who is also a member of world governing body FIFA's ruling council, was adamant that any issues would be resolved with President Donald Trump's administration before millions of visitors descend on North America for the World Cup in 16 months time.

"It's a natural thing. Even during the last World Cup in Qatar, I had friends of mine calling me, saying, 'Hey, I'm worried to go there for whatever reason.' And you know, it was all fine," Montagliani told AFP on the sidelines of a sports business conference in Los Angeles.

"I'm confident that once we get there, whether it's obviously the participating teams or their fans, there'll be a methodology to sort that out," Montagliani added.

"Time's on our side with that. I understand the policies of the administration. But I'm confident that once we get to the point where we need to get to, 16 months from now, we'll be fine."

In one of the recent cases at the border, a French space scientist traveling to a conference in Houston was stopped and deported after US border officials searched the contents of his phone and laptop during a "random" security check. The French foreign ministry later said it "deplored" the incident.

Montagliani meanwhile said World Cup chiefs were comfortable dealing with the Trump administration, which has slapped tariffs on tournament co-hosts Canada and Mexico. Trump has also repeatedly described Canada as the US's "51st state".

"If you're in the business of football and you're a leader in football, it's part of our job to deal with any administration," Montagliani told reporters.

"It doesn't matter where you're putting on the events. We had to deal with that in the last two World Cups (in Qatar and Russia) and probably in World Cups before that.

"We're going to have to deal with it moving forward. It's just the reality of putting on international events. I'm sure the IOC (International Olympic Committee) has to deal with that when they put on Olympics. So it's just the reality of it.

"We've got to focus on the event. We got to focus on the sport. And whatever sort of challenges there are, you just deal with them accordingly."