Trump's Iran War Is Keeping the World Away From America's World Cup — and Host Cities Are Already Feeling It

Hotel room rates across the United States are falling sharply ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, as anti-American sentiment fuelled by Trump's war in Iran and sweeping travel bans deter the international visitors that host cities were counting on.

Game-day room prices in key host cities have dropped by roughly one-third from their peak earlier this year, according to data from Lighthouse Intelligence cited by the Financial Times, with cities including Dallas, Miami, Philadelphia, San Francisco, and Atlanta all registering the decline.

The shortfall is striking given that FIFA president Gianni Infantino told North American host cities in 2024 to expect 'hundreds of thousands of guests,' and that a joint FIFA-WTO study projected the tournament would generate £23.6 billion ($30.5 billion) in economic output for the United States alone. That promise is under serious pressure, and the geopolitical climate surrounding the tournament is a significant reason why.

How the Iran War Became the World Cup's Biggest Off-Field Problem

Aran Ryan, director of industry studies at Tourism Economics, told the Financial Times that the slump has multiple causes but one that stands above the rest. 'There's concern about ticket prices, there's concern about border crossings and there's concern about anti-US sentiment,' Ryan said, adding that the existing wariness toward the United States during the second Trump administration 'has been made worse by the Iran war.'

Bob Heere, a professor of sports management at the University of North Texas, echoed that assessment in an interview with KERA, the Dallas public broadcaster. Arlington, in Texas, is set to host nine matches, the most of any US city, and Heere said domestic fans would likely fill those seats. But he warned that international visitors were a different matter.

'The policies of the American government in recent years have sent a clear signal to the rest of the world,' Heere told KERA. 'And many of them are concerned about coming to the United States.'

In early April 2026, FIFA cancelled some of its hotel block reservations in Dallas and Arlington, a move it later said reflected the adjustment of bookings that were initially reserved for operational staff, media, and tournament stakeholders. 'As attendance numbers become more concrete closer to the start of matches, FIFA adjusts hotel room bookings accordingly,' a FIFA spokesperson told KERA. The White House, for its part, maintained that the tournament remained on track. White House spokesman Davis Ingle told The Daily Beast that the World Cup 'will generate billions of dollars of economic impact and bring hundreds of thousands of jobs to our country.'

Travel Bans, Visa Bonds, and Four Qualified Teams That Cannot Bring Their Fans

Under Presidential Proclamation 10998, the Trump administration expanded visa-issuance suspensions to nationals from 39 countries as of 1 January 2026, citing national security and public safety grounds. Four of those countries, namely Haiti, Iran, Senegal, and Ivory Coast, have qualified for the World Cup. Haiti qualified for the first time since 1974. Iran is competing in the tournament and is still scheduled to play its opening group-stage match on 15 June 2026. Their fans cannot legally obtain the B-2 tourist visas needed to attend matches in the United States.

The complications extend beyond the 39 banned nations. Fans from 50 additional countries may be required to post a bond of up to £11,600 ($15,000) when applying for a US tourist visa, according to the American Immigration Council. That requirement affects fans from nations with qualified teams, including Algeria, Cape Verde, Senegal, and Tunisia.

A further complication emerged with the US State Department's reported proposal to require up to five years of social media history from visa applicants, a measure that travel operators said would dissuade casual supporters from attempting the journey at all. The Council on Foreign Relations noted in a detailed overview published in April 2026 that the State Department had clarified only 'a small subset of travellers' would qualify for exemptions, suggesting media, corporate sponsors, and foreign spectators from restricted nations remain at risk.

FIFA ticket prices compound the difficulty for those who could still qualify for entry. When FIFA published its pricing in December 2025, the cheapest first-round tickets started at £108 ($140), while the US opening match against Paraguay in Los Angeles carried prices as high as £2,116 ($2,735). The cheapest ticket for the final at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey is listed at £3,218 ($4,165), rising to £6,710 ($8,680) for the most expensive category. For an international fan who must also fund flights, accommodation, and the visa process, the cumulative cost is prohibitive.

New York's Flat Bookings and the Gap Between FIFA's Promises and the Market

The Hotel Association of New York City has been candid about the mismatch between FIFA's projections and actual booking behaviour. Its president, Vijay Dandapani, told the Financial Times that he could 'categorically say we haven't seen much of a meaningful boost yet.'

The contrast with FIFA's original vision is difficult to overstate. Infantino told the World Economic Forum in Davos that the tournament would generate £61.9 billion ($80.1 billion) in gross global output, create 824,000 jobs, and add £31.6 billion ($40.9 billion) to global GDP. Independent economists had already cautioned that mega-event projections routinely exceed realised benefits by 30 to 40%.

Now, geopolitical headwinds are shaving into a baseline that many analysts had already considered optimistic. The question for host cities, which committed public funding and infrastructure upgrades years before the current political climate took shape, is how much of the shortfall they will ultimately absorb.

A tournament built on the premise that football unites the world is arriving at a moment when the United States is doing a great deal to keep the world at a distance.