Fans from five nations wanting to attend the 2026 World Cup in the United States are being asked to post up to $15,000 in bond payments just to secure a tourist visa. Not for flights. Not for tickets. Just to get through the door.
Algeria, Senegal, Cape Verde, Ivory Coast, and Tunisia are all caught in what the U.S. government is calling a "visa bond pilot program." The bonds are refundable — provided visa holders actually leave the States on time — but asking a football fan to front $15,000 on top of already eye-watering ticket prices and transatlantic travel costs is, to put it plainly, exclusionary.
FIFA's "Most Inclusive" World Cup is getting complicated
Gianni Infantino has been billing 2026 as the "most inclusive" World Cup in history. The reality is considerably messier. Several qualifying nations — Iran among them — face U.S. travel bans stemming from Trump's January 2025 inauguration. Exemptions cover players and their immediate families, but FIFA cannot yet confirm whether fans from those countries will be permitted entry at all.
Now layer in the bond program. FIFA is lobbying the Trump administration to waive the requirement for players, coaching staff, and officials — because, yes, squad members could technically be subject to the same demands. The argument is that official tournament invitation letters should serve as waivers. For supporters, no such exemption is expected.
Cape Verde are attending their first-ever World Cup. The idea that their fans might be priced out not by ticket scarcity, but by a government bond scheme, is a grim footnote to what should be a historic moment for the islands.
A separate complaint has already been filed with the European Commission over FIFA's ticket pricing, which supporters' groups have described as "sky-high." The U.S. State Department says it is "engaging robustly with FIFA" — language that suggests ongoing negotiation rather than resolved policy. Anyone building a betting model around tournament attendance figures or host-city atmospheres should treat those variables as genuinely uncertain right now.
Salah, MLS, and the race that's already started
Liverpool's public confirmation that Mohamed Salah is leaving Anfield this summer took roughly a few hours to trigger the inevitable: MLS commissioner Don Garber declaring interest. "I'd love to see him in our league," Garber said. "We'd provide him with a great platform."
San Diego, despite earlier rumours, have apparently ruled themselves out. But MLS has shown it can move when the prize is right. Apple's involvement in financing Lionel Messi's move to Inter Miami in 2023 set a precedent — technology money plugging the gap where football money runs short. Salah turns 34 in June, and the statistical case that his elite output is declining is credible. But "declining" and "worthless to MLS" are very different things.
Inter Miami and LA Galaxy are both currently in talks to sign Casemiro, 34, after his Manchester United departure. The league is actively collecting marquee names in their mid-thirties. Salah would be the most commercially potent of the lot — a global brand in a league that's spent a decade trying to build one.
- MLS commissioner Don Garber has publicly stated his desire to sign Salah
- San Diego FC have distanced themselves from a move
- Inter Miami and LA Galaxy are both pursuing Casemiro as MLS targets veteran stars
- Salah turns 34 in June; his Liverpool contract expires this summer
The cogs are turning. Whether a deal materialises depends on Salah's own ambitions — a Champions League farewell tour in Europe remains possible — but MLS has made its pitch, and loudly.
