"Mount Pleasant FA, champion of the 2025 CONCACAF Caribbean Cup and runner-up in the last two Jamaican Premier League tournaments, is playing in the Champions Cup for the first time. The team has six Haitian players on its roster and Haiti is one of 19 countries whose citizens have been banned by the Trump administration from entering the U.S."
"The State Department has the ability, under the presidential proclamation exception, to grant entry to "athletes, coaches and essential support staff" from any country traveling to the U.S. for "the World Cup, Olympics or other major sporting event as determined by the secretary of state.""
"Despite that, eight members of Cuba's delegation to the World Baseball Classic - among them federation president Juan Reinaldo Pérez Pardo and pitching coach Pedro Luis Lazo - had their visa requests denied. Under the Trump administration's rules, Cuban citizens are subject to the same travel restrictions as Haitians."
The State Department has denied visas to members of Mount Pleasant FA, a Jamaican soccer team, preventing them from playing in the CONCACAF Champions Cup round of 16 against the Galaxy. The team includes six Haitian players, and Haiti is among 19 countries whose citizens face U.S. entry bans under the Trump administration. Although presidential proclamation exceptions allow entry for athletes competing in major sporting events like the World Cup, the visa denials proceeded. Similarly, eight Cuban delegation members for the World Baseball Classic had visa requests denied. This creates uncertainty about whether players from restricted countries can participate in the upcoming World Cup. Haiti and Jamaica previously competed in last summer's Gold Cup without visa issues.
Read at Los Angeles Times
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