Foot: la sélection du Liberia annule un match aux Etats-Unis faute de visas
Liberia's national football team has cancelled its participation in a friendly match with a Minnesota club after failing to obtain visas for the United States, AFP learned Friday.
This cancellation comes in a context marked by the restrictive visa policy of the Donald Trump government and just days before the end of a football World Cup during which many fans were refused entry to the United States.
In a statement published on its Facebook page on Wednesday, the Liberian Ministry of Sports announced the cancellation of the friendly match against Minnesota United.
"Members of the Liberian national team and the official delegation were denied visas to the United States, which made it impossible for the required delegation to participate and for contractual obligations to be met within the agreed timeframe," the statement said.
"We were looking forward to hosting the Liberian national team and celebrating the close ties between the Liberian community in Minnesota and our club, but circumstances beyond our control have forced us to cancel this match," the club said in a statement Wednesday without specifying the reasons for the cancellation.
Several cases of visa refusals have marred the 2026 FIFA World Cup, which is being held partly in the United States.
Many fans, but also a Somali referee, a Ghanaian player and about fifteen members of the Iranian team's staff were refused visas during this World Cup.
Last year, the Senegalese women's basketball team had to cancel a training camp in the United States after the country refused to issue visas to twelve players and staff members who were supposed to take part in the training.
Furthermore, Minneapolis was the scene of violent interventions by immigration police (ICE) during which two American citizens were shot dead last January.
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