Senegal captain Kalidou Koulibaly has spoken out against the United States’ travel restrictions on Senegalese nationals, claiming the strict measures have barred numerous African supporters from attending the ongoing FIFA World Cup 2026.
Speaking after Senegal’s 3-1 defeat to France in their Group Stage opening match on Tuesday, the veteran defender expressed his deep disappointment that fans from the West African nation could not make the trip to the U.S. to back the Teranga Lions.
The Al-Hilal center-back told the media:
“The federation did the work for us to have our families and close relatives with us, but it’s true that some supporters couldn’t fly to America.”
“I think that every team has the right to have their people, so I don’t understand why people from Africa cannot have their supporters here,” Koulibaly added.
“I don’t want to speak about politics. I just want to speak about football, enjoy the game, and I believe football is for everybody. I just wanted to say this and I hope the situation will get better, but the most important thing for us now is to play for our people.”
US Travel Bans and the 2026 World Cup
As a background to the controversy, US President Donald Trump imposed a partial travel ban in December 2025 targeting four nations: Senegal, Ivory Coast, Iran, and Haiti, while also suspending entry for certain immigrants and non-immigrants, heavily impacting fans heading to the tournament.
