2026 World Cup: A Soft-Power Opportunity Missed?

The World Cup should have been a soft-power triumph for the US. Instead, visa barriers, travel restrictions and a growing sense of exclusion risk turning this global showcase into a missed opportunity

Credit: White House

I’m traveling in Europe this week – part work, part vacation – so I invited my director of communications, Jen Monaghan, to fill in for me. As a former BBC journalist and long-time soccer fan who grew up in England, Jen has the perfect perspective to offer some reflections on the World Cup as an event of American soft power. She also attended the US-Australia match in Seattle! I was deeply jealous of that, although I did get into the World Cup spirit by attending the Paraguay-Türkiye match in Santa Clara. It was raucous! After winning, the Paraguayan fans did not want to leave, and stayed singing and dancing in the stadium for another hour.

But now, over to Jen:

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We’re now into the knockout stages of the 2026 World Cup—and what fun it’s been so far! Whether you’re a soccer fan, or a relative newcomer to “the global game”, the 2026 edition of the tournament—co-hosted by Mexico, the United States, and Canada—has exceeded early expectations on the pitch. It’s been a goal-fest, with the world’s best players all rising to the occasion. There’s also been record attendance.

But the World Cup’s significance extends far beyond the field. Few events prompt such a large movement of people across international borders in such a short period of time. For host nations, it offers a rare opportunity to present themselves to the world—and to shape how the world sees them.

This year’s edition of the World Cup is bigger—and more global—than ever. Ten teams qualified from sub-Saharan Africa, with a further eight teams qualifying from the Middle East and North Africa. It is this diversity that makes the tournament so special. When minnows Cape Verde held giants Spain to a draw in their opening match, few neutrals could resist cheering on the island nation. Scotland fans, wearing tartan kilts and carrying bagpipes, have made such an impression on the city of Boston that Mayor Michelle Wu has signed a letter of intent to establish Boston and Glasgow as sister cities! This is the magic of the World Cup. For a few weeks, supporters find themselves cheering for unfamiliar nations, learning about distant places, and sharing public spaces with people they might otherwise never meet.

What a shame, then, that this tournament comes to the U.S. at a time when its president has so clearly signaled that the country is closed to so many. Thirty-nine countries are subject to full or partial U.S. travel bans, including four countries that feature at the World Cup— Haiti, Senegal, the Ivory Coast, and Iran. While exemptions have been made for players and support staff (the Iranian team only got their visas 10 days before the tournament began), this does not apply to fans traveling from those countries. Until May, citizens from Algeria, Cape Verde, the Ivory Coast, Senegal, and Tunisia were among those required to submit a bond of up to $15,000 to enter the U.S.— a fee that will now be waived upon presentation of a valid World Cup ticket (not that having a ticket guarantees a visa will be issued). Fans from Iraq, Morocco, Jordan, and Scotland have all reported difficulties obtaining the relevant visas for the tournament, as have media representatives from across Africa and Iran.

The US-Israeli war with Iran has undoubtedly added a layer of complication. U.S. embassies have suspended consular services and routine visa operations across the region since March. But even before the war, citizens from dozens of countries—particularly those in the Middle East and Africa—faced high levels of rejection for B-type visas, which include the B2 type required for tourist travel. According to U.S. State Department statistics for the 2025 fiscal year, this included Uzbekistan (rejection rate of 52.46%), Jordan (56.63%), Cape Verde (53.87%) Algeria (51.23%), Egypt (47.61%), and Iraq (39.86%)—all countries that feature at the World Cup.

While FIFA has paraded an initiative to expedite visa processing for World Cup ticket holders, having a ticket does not guarantee a visa will be issued. Even having a visa might not be enough. Somali referee Omar Artan, one of 52 chosen by FIFA to officiate at the tournament, was turned away at the border after 11 hours of questioning.He says he had the correct visa as well as a diplomatic passport, issued by his country to ease travel concerns. (In a speech last year, Trump described Somalia as a “hellhole” and suggested it was “filthy, dirty, disgusting, ridden with crime.”) An unidentified U.S. official later claimed Artan had “association with suspected members of terror organisations”—a claim rejected by the Somali government. Artan has returned home, and FIFA has said it will pay him his tournament fee in full.

Reputation Matters

Cases such as Artan’s matter not simply because of the individuals affected, but because they shape how the United States is perceived by millions of potential visitors around the world. Last year, during a visit to Kenya, FIFA president Gianni Infantino was asked to assuage the fears of African soccer fans who were worried about traveling to the US for the 2026 World Cup. “I think it’s important to clarify this. There are a lot of misconceptions out there. Everyone will be welcome in Canada, Mexico and the United States,” Infantino replied.

It’s not just visitors from Africa and the Middle East who had concerns about travelling to the US. International tourism to the United States declined 5.5% in 2025, according to the International Trade Administration. This is the largest single-year decline in two decades, aside from the 2020 pandemic. It was driven by a 20.9% drop in visitor numbers from Canada, which Trump has repeatedly said should become the “51^st state”, as well as from Germany (11.3% decline). Fewer tourists means less spending. The total amount spent by international tourists declined by 4.6% in 2025, or $8.49 billion, the ITA reported.

This drop in tourism comes at a time when the World Cup had been expected to provide an economic windfall for the three host nations. In March, FIFA predicted the tournament would generate an additional $17.2 billion in GDP for the United States alone. Yet, just a month later, the American Hotel and Lodging Association warned that “the anticipated economic lift may fall short of expectations”. Close to 80% of respondents in U.S. host cities reported that hotel bookings were tracking below initial forecasts, while domestic bookings were outpacing those of “higher spend, longer stay” international travelers. As noted by the AHLA, the strong U.S. dollar, expensive matchday tickets, and rising airfares and gas prices (partly driven by the war in Iran) all contributed to reduced travel demand. But to ignore the logistical barriers to entry, as well as declining global perceptions of the United States more broadly, would be to miss something significant. According to the AHLA, which represents 30,000 members, 70% of respondents across all markets cited visa barriers and broader geopolitical concerns as key barriers to international demand.

The consequences of this for the United States are not just economic, but political too. Russia and Qatar wanted to host the World Cup in 2018 and 2022, respectively, in part because they knew the “soft power” credit that hosting such a global tournament could bring. For a few short weeks, the World Cup offers host nations the chance to introduce themselves to the world. Millions of visitors arrive, more than a billion watch from afar, and perceptions are shaped not by news reports, but by lived experience. The irony is that this global celebration comes to the United States at a time when much of the world does not feel welcome. In doing so, it risks squandering one of the most powerful opportunities that any country can have to shape how it is seen by the rest of the world.

According to the Alliance of Democracies’ 2026 Democracy Perception Index, the U.S. now sits in the bottom five most negatively perceived countries in the world, along with Israel, Iran, Afghanistan, and North Korea. In an era of renewed great-power competition, America’s rivals will be only too happy to exploit that advantage.