The 2026 FIFA World Cup is supposed to be the biggest, most inclusive edition of the tournament ever staged. Forty-eight teams, three host nations, and a whole lot of rhetoric about football uniting the world. But for the head of the Palestinian Football Association, the “united” part is proving aspirational at best.
Jibril Rajoub, the PFA’s president, is currently stranded in Mexico City, waiting for the United States to grant him a visa so he can attend World Cup matches on American soil. He was present at the tournament’s opening match on June 12, a contest between Mexico and South Africa. But crossing the border northward? That requires paperwork the US government hasn’t been in a rush to process.
A pattern, not an isolated incident
This isn’t the first time Rajoub and his colleagues have hit a wall trying to attend FIFA events in North America this year. Back in April, Canada denied visas to three PFA officials, including Rajoub, who were attempting to attend the FIFA Congress in Vancouver on April 30.
The PFA has reached out to FIFA for help in both cases, essentially asking the sport’s global governing body to use whatever leverage it has with host nation governments.
