The 2026 FIFA World Cup is the largest in history, with a record number of teams competing across North America, including Kansas City. Ticket prices are also the highest ever, with FIFA touting record demand.
But President Donald Trump’s reissued travel ban and new visa entry bond system threatens to hurt turnout, especially in Kansas City, where several countries affected are set to play and stay during the tournament.
The Trump administration’s travel ban heavily restricts people from dozens of countries from visiting the U.S.
“For athletes in these countries, we have an exemption,” said U.S. Department of State deputy spokesperson Mignon Houston in an interview with KCUR’s Up To Date. “So that's for athletes, coaches, support, staff, family members, immediate family members – and that's a spouse, that's a child.”
In addition, the Trump administration is piloting a system requiring visitors from 50 countries to pay a bond of up to $15,000 per person to enter the U.S.
“This is essentially a security fee for us, in layman's terms,” Houston said.
Kansas City will host six games, all at Arrowhead Stadium. And the metro will also serve as base camps to four national teams. In total, fans and players from at least eight countries will have reasons to travel to the region.
Algeria and Tunisia, which are subject to the visa entry bond, are both scheduled to play matches in Kansas City. Algeria’s men’s national team will also make their base camp in Lawrence, Kansas.
“We recognize that recent visa policies may create questions for some international fans, including those traveling from Tunisia and Algeria,” said a spokesperson from KC2026, the local organizing body for the World Cup, in a statement to KCUR.
“It’s important to us that the World Cup remains a truly global and welcoming event,” the statement continued. “We continue to see high interest in the World Cup in Kansas City, and we’re focused on creating memories for visitors, and sustained and long-term impact for the region.”
The Trump administration says the entry bond is directed at countries from which citizens frequently overstay their visa, or aren’t providing what the State Department deems to be adequate information for national security. The bond is refunded once the visitor returns to their country of origin.
Of the World Cup’s 104 scheduled matches, 78 will take place in the 11 U.S. host cities.
Players and staff for World Cup teams are not exempted from the travel bond — so they will also have to deposit money in order to enter the U.S. for their matches.
KC2026 anticipates that 650,000 visitors during the tournament will generate approximately $653 million to the local economy.
It’s unknown how the travel ban or visa bonds are expected to affect tourism or the possible economic impact of the tournament.
“What I hope that American citizens hear from us here at the State Department is, our highest priority is the safety and security of American citizens,” Houston said. “Before anything else, that is our highest priority.”
- Mignon Houston, deputy spokesperson, U.S. Department of State
