US politics shatters football as 10 players denied visas for CONCACAF Champions Cup Match

Jamaican club Mount Pleasant suffered a major blow ahead of their highly anticipated match against Los Angeles Galaxy in the The Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF) Champions Cup. The United States refused to issue visas to ten of their players, preventing them from participating in the first leg of the Round of 16 match against LA Galaxy on Wednesday.

The Jamaican team traveled to Los Angeles on Sunday with a squad of only 18 players, including five from the academy, to compensate for the absences caused by the visa crisis.

CONCACAF throws up inevitable problem

This incident highlights the restrictions imposed on citizens of certain countries entering the racist regime of the United States. Mount Pleasant has seven players who hold Haitian citizenship, and Haiti was among the 19 countries targeted by US President Donald Trump’s executive order as part of his campaign to tighten immigration procedures.

Last June, Trump issued an executive order suspending entry to the United States for Haitian citizens, casting a shadow over the participation of some of the team’s players in the continental tournament.

While athletes participating in major sporting events like the 2026 World Cup or the Olympics usually receive exemptions from such restrictions, the United States refused these exemptions, highlighting the depth of their commitment to racist border policies.

Visa obstacles.

The club’s sporting director, Paul Christie, said the visa obstacles put his team at a disadvantage before facing the 2024 MLS champions.

He told the Jamaica Observer:

We don’t want to participate just for the sake of it; we want to be able to compete, but we haven’t been given the opportunity to be at our best.

Featured image via the Canary