The 2026 FIFA World Cup will serve as a critical stress test for the U.S.'s ability to welcome global sports fans, offering a real-world rehearsal for the far larger challenge of hosting the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, the head of the U.S. Olympic movement said Tuesday.
Speaking to International Olympic Committee (IOC) members in Milan ahead of the Milano-Cortina Winter Games, United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee chair Gene Sykes framed the World Cup, co-hosted by the U.S., Canada and Mexico, as a proving ground for visa processing, border entry and large-scale international travel logistics.
“This entire process of welcoming visitors from other countries to the United States for sporting events is getting something of a trial run on a smaller basis, but with still a very extensive worldwide experience,” Sykes said.
His remarks came amid pointed questions from IOC members about whether spectators will be able to obtain visas smoothly for the 2028 Games, particularly under the stricter U.S. immigration posture associated with President Donald Trump’s administration. While organizers have built extensive visa-support systems for athletes and Olympic stakeholders, fans remain outside those protections.
LA28 organizers, working closely with federal agencies including the U.S. State Department, have established a dedicated visa platform and a joint office in Washington, D.C., staffed in part by former State Department officials.
The system is designed to streamline entry for athletes, officials, support staff and other accredited Olympic participants, but it does not extend to ticket-holding spectators.
That gap prompted concern from IOC members, especially those representing countries with historically high visa refusal rates. Ethiopian IOC member Dagmawit Girmay Berhane pressed Sykes on how “equal opportunity” could be guaranteed for fans hoping to attend the Games.
Sykes acknowledged the concern and said he would support a more structured solution, including the designation of specific State Department officials or resources to manage spectator visa issues tied to the Olympics. Such an approach, he suggested, could make the process more transparent and predictable.
Other IOC members pointed to successful models used at previous Games. Djibouti’s Aicha Garad Ali cited Paris 2024’s use of a “visa ambassador” system to assist African delegations and asked whether Los Angeles could adopt a similar framework.
The debate unfolds as the United States prepares to host the expanded 48-team World Cup in June and July 2026, an event expected to draw hundreds of thousands of international fans, significant in scale, but still smaller than the Olympics, which will welcome athletes from more than 200 nations, over 10,500 competitors and massive global audiences over 17 days.
Sykes said lessons learned from the World Cup, particularly around visa timing, consular capacity and coordination, would directly inform preparations for LA28.
Federal engagement has already intensified. In 2025, the USOPC said it received strong assurances from the White House and State Department regarding visa access for Olympic participants. President Trump later signed an executive order establishing a federal task force to coordinate security, planning and streamlined visa and credentialing processes for the 2028 Games.
Still, supporters’ groups for both the World Cup and the Olympics have voiced concern that visa delays or denials could dampen fan turnout, especially from regions with limited consular infrastructure. Organizers continue to stress that event tickets do not guarantee visas and that travelers must follow standard U.S. entry procedures.
