Socceroo quandary. USA tourism in decline as World Cup looms amid visa mess, Trump chaos
· Michael West
Amid global trepidation in the football fraternity over the troubles in the USA, hosts for the 2026 World Cup, there is a sharp drop-off in tourist numbers. Andrew Gardiner with the story.
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The decline of the USA is evident in the sharp drop. More than 120 civil society, human rights and soccer fan organisations banded together last week to put out a joint “2026 World Cup Travel Advisory”.
“Rising authoritarianism and increasing violence (in the US) pose serious risks” for visitors to the June tournament, they warned, including thousands of Socceroos fans who signed up for tickets.
Led by well-known groups like Amnesty International and the American Civil Liberties Union, this broad coalition pointed out that “minority groups” are routinely targeted during Donald Trump’s second term in office through the use of racial profiling: an unconstitutional abuse of power which goes well beyond the blood-stained corralling of undocumented “aliens” in places like Minneapolis.
People of non-European origin make up around half the cohort of Australian soccer fans, and they’ll encounter agents from the very bureau that earned notoriety in Minneapolis, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), as it patrols Socceroo matches in Seattle and Santa Clara.
Socceroos
Socceroo fans and players-of-colour (there will be up to five of the latter in our World Cup squad, three of them Muslim) will be among the “most vulnerable to serious harm when travelling to and/or within the US,” Amnesty USA warned, before going on to highlight the following “risks and harms”:
- Arbitrary denial of entry and risk of arrest, detention and/or deportation, “even those with prior authorisation from the US government”, such as players and coaches;
- Invasive social media screening and searches of electronic devices for content the Trump administration deems “anti-American” or “anti-semitic”. If they single you out and find that long-forgotten post calling Trump a clown, there’s every chance you’ll be on the next plane home;
- Violent and unconstitutional law enforcement, including racial profiling and other forms of discrimination. Socceroos fans need only “look different” to risk being targeted;
- Suppression of speech and protest. The people currently running things in the ‘Land of the Free’ have intimidated, harassed, and used force against protesters exercising constitutionally-protected rights, most shockingly, Renee Good and Alex Pretti of Minneapolis, who were killed in January. They were US citizens; visiting Socceroos fans might want to ditch their politics for a month, focusing their passion on the team instead.
Such worries got the better of Steve Schwarzbach, a German national “super fan” who has been to every World Cup since 2006. After braving “dangerous” World Cup venues like South Africa (2010) and Brazil (2014), Schwarzbach drew the line at Trump’s America.
Why was 2026 a bridge too far? “I look more Asian than German,” the half-Korean Schwarzbach told CNN. “You see the ICE people going around and just pulling people from the streets just because they look foreign, and you don’t get the feeling that anybody would protect me, you know?”
With World Cup ticket sales in a serious funk, at least a few among the thousands of Socceroo fans of Middle Eastern, African, Latin American, or Asian descent appear to have followed Schwarbach’s lead.
SOURCES: US International Trade Administration, Reuters and other news outlets
Soccer fans aren’t the only ones giving America a wide berth during Trump’s second term. In his first year back in office (from 20 January, 2025), America was the only major tourist destination that saw fewer visitors (experts say this will continue in 2026).
US tourism drops off a cliff
US international visitor arrivals plunged by 6 per cent worldwide (around 7 per cent from Australia), in stark contrast to global growth of 4 per cent over the same period (Australia was up 8 per cent). “The arbitrary nature of (wthether) a border officer decides to let you in or not is a bit more frightening (with) very clear guidance of, ‘You should not come here’,” Griffith University’s Lee Morgenbesser told the ABC.
Amid Trump’s “51st state” rhetoric and tariff wars with Canada – and calls to annex the Danish territory of Greenland – it’s perhaps not surprising that America saw some of its biggest visitor drop-off from Denmark (23 per cent) and Canada (21 per cent) respectively. Visitors from other Western European countries saw some of the steepest declines, with Germany down 11 per cent and France 8 per cent.
But when you factor in population, some of the biggest drops came from places like India (11 per cent) and China (around 8 per cent). Much of this was self-inflicted, with American officialdom slashing visa approvals for aspiring permanent residents or temporary visa holders from both countries, tightening immigration rules and bringing in what many call “extreme vetting”.
These discriminatory practices, coupled with the broader misconduct of agencies already notorious for racial profiling and violence, are seen as perhaps the biggest driver of six million fewer people visiting America last year, at an estimated cost of $US12.5B to the US economy.
America’s decline
Echoing its shaky status as the world’s economic powerhouse, America “is now at a crossroads in its tourism development,” the World Tourism and Travel Council said. Brand damage around “America the destination” saw China dwarf the US for inbound visitors last year, 150 million to just 68 million, “reflecting the broader strength of Asia-Pacific, now the fastest-growing travel and tourism region globally”.
2025 was a boom year globally for travel, visitors up 20 per cent to Vietnam, up 17 per cent to China and – in perhaps the biggest surprise – up 29 per cent to far-flung Iceland. But it wasn’t a boom year for the US, which faces an uncertain, decades-long slog to restore its reputation, society and economic primacy.
“By the end of Trump’s term … there will be nothing left of the America we knew four years before. All institutions, norms, government, you name it, all of it gone”, Robert Litan, an economist and fellow at the Brookings Institution, told the New York Times.
Will Jackson Irvine (above) be playing in half-empty stadiums like this one during the World Cup? IMAGE AAP (Insets: FIFA, Wikipedia).
Zealous ICE agents and airport gauntlets aside, Socceroo fans continue to keep one eye on the status of vice captain Jackson Irvine, who was back in the headlines last week when he slammed FIFA for awarding Trump its inaugural peace prize. “As an organisation, you would have to say decisions like the one … make a mockery of (FIFA’s) using football as a global driving force for change in the world,” Irvine told Reuters.
Uncertainty as World Cup looms
Presenting the award to Trump in December, FIFA president Gianni Infantino credited Trump with achieving “peace and unity around the world”. One month later, the US deployed special forces to abduct Venezuela’s president, before attacking Iran (with Israeli help) in late February (an estimated 2,000 civilians were killed).
A staunch supporter of Palestinian and human rights, Irvine was having none of Trump’s peace prize. “In America, we’re seeing more and more of the rights of (minorities) being taken away all over the country,” he said.
Already the target of Zionists after donning a ‘Palestine FC’ shirt and commenting on the carnage in Gaza, Irvine and his fans must now hope his comments haven’t drawn the attention of Trump, a man known for his thin skin and vengeful nature.
Over the past week alone, Trump has pressured America’s ABC network to terminate its late night host, Jimmy Kimmel (for joking that First Lady Melania Trump Melania had “a glow like an expectant widow“) and his Justice Depatment charged James Comey with “threatening the president” after the former FBI chief posted then deleted an Instagram photo of sea shells arranged into the number “8647” (86 being slang for “discard or remove someone”, and Trump being the 47th US president).
Will Irvine, a veritable mosquito next to those two, fly under Trump’s ultra-sensitive radar? The answer is probably yes, but with the current occupant of the White House, you never know.
The Socceroos begin their World Cup campaign against Türkiye on June 14, in the peaceful surrounds of Vancouver, Canada, before venturing across the border to Seattle, USA, to face their American hosts with Trump himself in likely attendance. That’s when Irvine, his teammates and Socceroos fans will learn first hand just what kind of country America has become.