As Tunisia’s national football team prepares to step onto the pitch in Kansas City for their third group-stage match at the 2026 FIFA World Cup on June 25, one of the side’s most loyal followers will be forced to watch from afar, stuck in Mexico after U.S. entry requirements derailed his long-planned journey.
Mohamed Sadok Fradi, a 35-year-old diehard supporter who has followed the “Eagles of Carthage” to the past two World Cup tournaments in Russia and Qatar, has had his streak of attending every major tournament cut short by the Trump administration’s stringent travel restrictions for citizens of several Middle Eastern and African nations, including Tunisia. Fradi, who has long viewed the World Cup as a unique global force that brings people of all backgrounds together, says the current U.S. rules are not just unnecessarily burdensome—they directly contradict the unifying spirit the tournament is meant to embody.
“I declined to even apply for a U.S. visa because I refuse to accept that football fans have to jump through all these unnecessary hoops just to cheer on their team,” Fradi told Middle East Eye in an interview from Monterrey, where Tunisia played their first two group-stage matches. “A fan should be able to simply buy a ticket, grab their flag, and go support their country. That’s how it’s supposed to work.”
When the World Cup kicked off across the three co-host nations of the U.S., Mexico and Canada last week, thousands of Tunisian fans made the long journey to North America, packing the streets of Monterrey in bright red team jerseys, waving massive national flags and beating traditional drums to rally for their side. But for hundreds of these traveling supporters, the adventure has stopped at the U.S. border.
Since the start of Donald Trump’s second presidential term, the U.S. has implemented sweeping travel bans targeting multiple majority-Muslim and African countries, alongside steep increases in visa processing fees. Earlier this year, Washington expanded its contentious Visa Bond Program, which requires travelers from 50 nations—including Tunisia—to put down deposits of as much as $15,000 to receive a tourist visa, with the entire sum forfeited if a visitor overstays their approved entry period.
While the U.S. State Department eventually issued a limited waiver exempting World Cup ticket holders from the bond requirement and offered priority visa processing through FIFA, this exemption only applied to fans who submitted their applications before an April 15 deadline. Thousands of fans missed the cutoff, leaving them stuck with no path to enter the country for the match.
Fradi, who traveled 23 hours from Qatar to reach Monterrey and is still adjusting to the journey, called the U.S. process exclusionary, and a direct contradiction to FIFA’s core slogan that “football unites the world.” His experience at the 2018 Russia and 2022 Qatar World Cups, where both host nations streamlined entry for all ticket holders, made the current barriers even more disappointing, he said.
“This is the third World Cup I’ve attended, always following the national team, but it has never been as difficult or complicated as it is with the U.S.,” Fradi said. “This tournament has so many unnecessary complications when it comes to access and hospitality. I wish Mexico were hosting the entire World Cup on its own—only Mexico.”
Many Tunisian fans have echoed Fradi’s praise for Mexico’s streamlined entry process, which saw Tunisian citizens wait less than a month for tourist visas. Travelers holding valid visas or permanent residency from the U.S., Canada, Japan, the U.K. or any Schengen Area country are even granted full entry exemptions, making the cross-country trip from Monterrey to Kansas City far less stressful for the few fans able to go.
Anwar Sbissi, a Tunisian fan who is a Canadian citizen and plans to attend the Kansas City match, warned that the energy in the stadium will never feel the same without the full traveling contingent of Tunisian supporters. He added that the $15,000 bond requirement pushed countless fans to cancel their trips, meaning the stands will likely be dominated by Tunisian supporters already living in the U.S. rather than the traveling fan base that has followed the team across the tournament.
Anis Ghozzi, a Tunisian expatriate based in Montreal, is going a step further and boycotting the U.S. leg of the tournament entirely. Holding a Free Palestine flag at pre-match celebrations in Monterrey’s popular Barrio Antiguo district ahead of Tunisia’s opening game, Ghozzi cited multiple reasons for his boycott, including the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Gaza, geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, and recent tariffs imposed by the U.S. on Canada and Mexico.
“I’d rather spend my money here in Mexico than put a cent into the U.S.,” he said.
Even for fans who have managed to secure a valid U.S. visa, uncertainty remains. U.S. border officials retain full authority to deny entry to any traveler, even those with approved documentation, and recent high-profile incidents—including Somali referee Omar Abdulkadir Artan being turned away at Miami International Airport—have amplified fears of last-minute denials.
Faten Drira, a traveling fan who plans to cross into the U.S. with her husband after Tunisia’s matches in Monterrey, says she still has no idea if her visa will be enough to guarantee entry.
“I hope I can go to America,” she said in a nervous tone. “I understand they don’t accept everyone. I have my visa, but we’ll see.”
FIFA President Gianni Infantino sought to downplay concerns ahead of the tournament, telling reporters after a May meeting with Trump administration officials that the U.S. would be open to the world during the World Cup. But the on-the-ground experience for hundreds of Tunisian fans tells a different story, turning a unifying global celebration into a source of frustration and disappointment for supporters who just wanted to cheer on their team.
