With the 2026 FIFA World Cup approaching, football fans across the globe are raising alarms over a new proposal from Donald Trump’s administration that could make international travel to the United States far more difficult.
The tournament co-hosted by the US, Canada and Mexico is expected to attract millions of visitors. But the proposed rule change from US Customs and Border Protection would require all foreign travellers entering the US to hand over five years’ worth of their social media activity, along with email addresses, phone numbers and family details. This would apply even to visitors from Visa Waiver Program countries, including the UK, France, Germany, Spain, Australia, Japan and South Korea.
For fans, this could be a major barrier. FIFA’s own estimates show the World Cup is projected to bring in more than $30B to host economies and create over 185,000 jobs in the US alone but those numbers were based on an expected 2.6 million attendees, around half of them international visitors. Many now worry that Trump’s surveillance-heavy approach will drive fans away rather than welcome them in.
Supporters online have reacted strongly. Some predict empty stadiums in the US while crowds flock to matches in Mexico and Canada instead. Others fear the same issue will affect the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, warning that the US risks isolating itself from global sporting culture.
Ronan Evain, executive director of Football Supporters Europe, sharply criticised the proposal, calling it “profoundly unacceptable” and a direct threat to privacy and free expression rights that should not disappear simply because someone crosses a border. According to him, the policy clashes with the inclusive spirit global sporting events are supposed to celebrate.
This comes on the heels of Trump freezing immigration applications from 19 countries and tightening restrictions on several others, a move widely condemned by human-rights groups and immigrant-advocacy organisations.
The public comment period for the proposal runs until February 9, 2026, and fans, civil-rights groups and international organisations are already urging the administration to withdraw it.
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