World Cup CHAOS? Everything going wrong so far

The Fifa World Cup is billed as an international festival of football - bringing people together from all over the globe to celebrate their countries on the pitch. [Subscribe to our Substack newsletter: https://channel4news.substack.com/subscribe] But the tournament, this year hosted across 16 cities in the USA, Canada and Mexico, is caught up in President Donald Trump’s strict US border rules - and not everyone appears to be welcome. It’s the latest controversy to hit the 2026 World Cup, after sky-rocketing match ticket and transport prices, fears surrounding high temperatures for athletes and fans, and the ongoing war between the US and Iran. There are 39 countries with a full or partial US travel ban under Trump's administration, according to the latest update by US Congress in January. Iran, Haiti, Côte d'Ivoire and Senegal are all playing at the World Cup - despite featuring on the list. Somalian referee Omar Abdulkadir Artan was selected by Fifa as one of the World Cup's 52 officials - but he was refused entry to the USA over “vetting concerns.” Somalia is on Trump’s travel ban list and the administration has pushed for Somali deportations in the past. Fifa has distanced itself from the Artan decision, confirming he will not referee in the competition - and saying it does not get involved in host country immigration processes. In this episode of the breakdown, Channel 4 News speaks to chief football writer at The Independent Miguel Delaney, who is in New Jersey, to explore what has gone wrong in the build up to this World Cup. ------- Get more news at our site - https://www.channel4.com/news/ Subscribe to our Substack newsletter: https://channel4news.substack.com/subscribe Follow us: TikTok - https://www.tiktok.com/@c4news Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/channel4news/ Twitter - https://twitter.com/Channel4News Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/Channel4News/ worldcup2026 football soccer