The travel ban President Trump announced earlier this year bars citizens from 12 countries and places restrictions on potential tourists from seven more. With several large global sporting events coming to the U.S. over the next few years—notably the FIFA Club World Cup in 2026 and the Summer Olympics in 2028—some are concerned this could negatively impact attendance and revenues.
The good news is that athletes, coaches, essential support staff and athletes’ immediate family members are specifically exempted from the travel ban as long as they are traveling to the U.S. for a major global sporting event.
International Fans May Face Difficulty Entering the U.S.
However, that exemption does not apply to international fans and tourists from the named countries. This means that those fans likely will not be able to enter the U.S. to cheer on their country’s athletes, which likely will decrease attendance and the ancillary tourism revenues that come with it, along with the potential to make it more difficult to sell tickets to global audiences.
This could be a blow to the U.S. cities hosting these events, which were depending on substantial tourism and hospitality revenues when they bid to hold these sporting events.
Also, while the Summer Olympic Games and FIFA qualify as “significant sporting events” whose athletes are exempted from the travel bans, it’s not immediately clear what other sporting events might qualify.
Eligibility is granted by the discretion of Secretary of State Marco Rubio, so some other competitions may still find it difficult to impossible to secure visas for their athletes and support staff, adding some administrative headaches for organizers whose competitions are global, but don’t quite have the magnitude of FIFA or the Olympics.
There also could be some uncertainty around exactly who qualifies as “immediate family” and who would be exempted from the travel ban. Trump’s travel ban could significantly impact U.S.-based international conferences by limiting participation from affected countries—resulting in lost revenue, reduced collaboration and a growing shift toward hosting events in more welcoming nations.
