Are Africans welcome at the World Cup?

This year’s World Cup, which begins on June 11 across the United States, Mexico, and Canada, features 10 African teams, more than ever before. But despite African success on the soccer field, many fans from African countries do not feel welcome at the World Cup. FIFA’s weak response to the US government’s immigration crackdown, which includes travel restrictions targeting dozens of African nations, means many African soccer fans and journalists are unable or unwilling to visit the US. US President Donald Trump has a history of disparaging Africans. The Trump administration’s immigration policies have mirrored this prejudice: his administration imposed full or partial bans on travel to the US for citizens from 39 countries, including 26 in Africa. Citizens from all African countries facing partial visa bans, as well as from another 16 countries across the continent, may have to pay a visa bond of up to $15,000, returned once US authorities confirm they have exited the country. Trump has also suspended the US refugee admissions program, which resettled more than 100,000 refugees including 34,000 Africans in 2024. White Afrikaners from South Africa are currently the only category of refugee eligible for resettlement in the US. African immigrants, refugees, and asylum seekers already present in the US, as well as Black Americans generally, have also suffered from the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown. Federal security forces, including agents from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), have arbitrarily and sometimes violently detained people across the country, including targeting Latino, Black, and other communities of color. Somalis and other Africans were among the targets of the US government’s campaign of terror and intimidation against immigrants in Minnesota this past winter, which included arrests of people with recognized refugee status. The Trump administration has also deported African and other asylum seekers and migrants to African states tha