In the summer of 1990, I fell in love.
That year, the United States qualified for the FIFA World Cup — the first time since 1950 — and it lit a lifelong passion for soccer inside me. Then considered a soccer backwater, the U.S. finished 0-3 in tournament and didn’t advance past the group stage; however, the tournament and enthusiasm televised from Italy made it can’t-miss TV for this then 12-year-old.
Four years later, I was thrilled when the United States welcomed the world as host of the 1994 World Cup. For a month, from June 17 to July 17, I watched nearly every game. I was able to attend a match in Dallas between Bulgaria and Nigeria. The lasting memory for me was appreciating the fans of the Nigerian “Super Eagles,” who paraded into the Cotton Bowl decked out in their national colors of green and white, and proceeded to play their drums and horns and dance for more than two hours from pregame through halftime and into the postgame as their team scored a 3-0 victory.
The United States didn’t have a professional soccer league at the time, but that tournament holds the records for being the most financially successful World Cup in history, with an overall attendance of 3,587,538, and average attendance of 68,991 per game.
I was elated in 2018 when FIFA awarded the 2026 World Cup to co-hosts the United States, Mexico and Canada, which is scheduled to kick off a year from now and will run from June 11 to July 19, 2026.
The tournament will no doubt be a financial success. The field has been expanded from 32 teams to 48 teams and the number of games played will increase from 64 to 104. It will be jointly hosted by 16 cities (two in Canada, three in Mexico, 11 in the United States): Vancouver, Seattle, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Guadalajara, Kansas City, Dallas, Houston, Atlanta, Monterrey, Mexico City, Toronto, Boston, New York/New Jersey, Philadelphia and Miami.
The United States will host 78 matches, including the quarterfinals onward, while Canada and Mexico will each host 13.
However, considering the current political climate in the United States, I wonder if fans of the game will feel welcome to attend.
A recent Tourism Economics study projected a 5.1% drop in foreign visitors to the U.S. in 2025. Additionally, the World Tourism Forum Institute has warned that strict border controls and international political tensions may negatively affect international arrivals.
Last month, President Trump hosted FIFA President Gianni Infantino at the White House for a meeting of the World Cup task force. Trump said the tournament spoke about how it would generate “tens of billions of dollars in economic activities for local businesses” and “thousands and thousands of jobs for American workers.”
Talking about the scope of the World Cup, Infantino said, “We’ll have 6 billion viewers. The final alone will attract between 2 and 3 billion viewers. This is 15 times more than the Super Bowl.”
At the meeting, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said the tournament is expected to bring 2 million foreign visitors to the U.S. for the World Cup next year and that handling visitors’ documents to get into the U.S. will “go smoothly.”
But then, however — whether to score cheap political points with his base or just not thinking about the potential impact — Vice President JD Vance joked about detaining foreign visitors.
“I know we’ll have visitors from close to 100 countries; we want them to come; we want them to celebrate; we want them to watch the game,” Vance said. “But when the time is up, they’ll have to go home, otherwise they’ll have to talk to Secretary Noem.”
One of the great aspects of the World Cup is that it makes the world smaller, people get exposed to other cultures and differences and barriers are lowered.
In the early part of the current administration, mistakes have been made that have affected real people. Rather than correcting them, the administration has doubled down on them. People have been deported to prisons in El Salvador and now there is talk of deporting people to Libya. Would an international traveler want to gamble on visiting the United States to attend the World Cup when their life, liberty and pursuit of happiness could be jeopardized? Or would it be easier for them to stay home and watch it on TV?
The United States has been a welcoming nation. I hope this is not an opportunity missed for young people to learn more about our world and for our country to be seen as the land of opportunity.
Chris Price is an award-winning journalist and public relations principal. When he’s not writing, he’s avid about music, the outdoors, and Saints, Ole Miss and Chelsea football.
