FIFA president Gianni Infantino has hinted that US President Donald Trump’s new directive to reintroduce a ban on immigration from certain Muslim-majority countries could hamper the country’s chances of successfully bidding to host the 2026 World Cup.
Infantino emphasized that nations that qualify for the global showpiece need, their players and supporters, to gain access to a country that hosts the tournament.
“Teams who qualify for a World Cup need to have access to the country; otherwise there is no World Cup. That is obvious,” he told reporters on Thursday in London, according to the Guardian.
The ban affects six countries including Iran, Somalia, Sudan, Yemen, Syria and Libya.
The football supremo has noted that the federation will tighten the requirements for one country to host the coveted competition.
“The requirements will be clear. And then each country can make up their decision, whether they want to bid or not based on the requirements.”
2026 world cup will be the first to have an expanded 48-teams after it was recently approves by the FIFA council. Russia and Qatar will host the 2018 and 2022 finals.