Passport-holders from 12 nations are now outright banned from entering the United States. They are: Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen.
Seven more countries – Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan and Venezuela – face significant but not full restrictions on travel.
Section four of the travel ban includes a clear exemption for sports stars travelling to those competitions – and other “major” sporting events.
It says “any athlete or member of an athletic team, including coaches, persons performing a necessary support role, and immediate relatives, traveling for the World Cup, Olympics, or other major sporting event as determined by the secretary of state” can still travel to the US.
“Two hundred and six countries are preparing to come to the Games,” said Nicole Hoevertsz, an IOC vice president who chairs the LA28 coordination commission.
“The federal government has given us that guarantee … to make sure that these participants will be able to enter the country… We are very confident that this is going to be accomplished.”
As well as the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games in Los Angeles, the USA will also co-host the Fifa World Cup in 2026, alongside Canada and Mexico.
