LOS ANGELES, June 6 — United States President Donald Trump’s directive to ban citizens from 12 countries from entering the US exempts athletes, and Los Angeles Olympics (LA28) officials said yesterday that they are confident the Games have the full backing of the administration.
Trump signed the proclamation on Wednesday as part of an immigration crackdown he said was needed to protect against “foreign terrorists” and other security threats.
“The important thing for us is that the federal government and this administration recognized the importance of the Olympics and the Games,” LA28 CEO Reynold Hoover told Reuters yesterday.
“There is a carve-out in the order in the travel ban that allows for and assures that there will be access to the Games for the athletes and their families and officials.
“We will be able to have a wide-open Games.”
The countries affected by the latest travel ban are Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, Congo Republic, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen.
The entry of people from seven other countries — Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan and Venezuela — will be partially restricted.
Casey Wasserman, the chairman of LA28, the private, non-profit company organising the Games, said he has “great confidence” the positive working relationship with the administration would continue.
“It was very clear in the directive that the Olympics require special consideration, and I want to thank the federal government for recognising that,” he told a press conference after hosting International Olympic Committee officials in Los Angeles.
Wasserman added that he does not anticipate the travel ban to impact ticket sales, which will begin next year.
The US, along with Canada and Mexico, will host the Fifa World Cup in 2026, and Trump said during a task force meeting last month that he wants travellers to the US to watch that competition to have a seamless experience during their visit.
“At the White House task force, the president, the vice-president, all of the administration officials said: ‘We welcome the world to come to Fifa’,” Hoover said.
“I think the administration is welcoming the world to come to LA.”
Hoover said LA28 continues to forge ties with the administration ahead of the sporting mega-event, now just over three years away.
“We have direct communication with the White House through the chief of staff, we have direct communication with the State Department, and we are working with the State Department to have embedded teams to coordinate visa access,” he said.
— Reuters
