Who’s being left out of the World Cup? | The Take

[00:00:00]Today the World Cup is in full swing.

[00:00:03]>> Iran faced Belgium in Los Angeles on Sunday, but much of the focus is still off the pitch. The team are based across the border in Tijuana, Mexico, and say strict US travel rules are cutting into their training and recovery time. But as the US tightens its borders, can football's biggest stage remain truly global? I'm Malikica Bilal and this is the take.

[00:00:32]Hey everyone, with football's biggest tournament in full swing, we want to know what stories have emerged from it that you're keeping an eye on. Use the comments to let us know if you're watching the games and what you're looking out for. And if you're listening to this episode on a podcast player, we want to hear from you, too. Send us a review to let us know what's resonating with you. Now, here's today's show.

[00:00:57]>> My name is Boyma Tucker. Um, I work with Africa as a country and I'm the director of operations.

[00:01:03]Boy, welcome to the take. It is really good to have you. Um, you have been covering the World Cup for Africa as a country, which has meant traveling through North America, getting to watch the games up close from host cities like New York and Toronto. As a longtime football fan, what has stood out to you the most about the atmosphere in these host cities and how have fans been experiencing this World Cup so far?

[00:01:31]>> Well, I have to say our work has really been concentrated on immigrant communities in these places. So, it's been really wonderful to kind of get an intimate look at how the World Cup has affected people in their homes. Um, we've always been interested in the lives of Africans in the diaspora and people are more than willing to let us come in with cameras and excited to talk about their teams and their countries.

[00:01:59]So, it's been a very um kind of an invigorating experience >> I love that angle. It's a fresh take on this, no pun intended. Okay, so what has that actually meant?

[00:02:10]Um so we started in New York and as many people know New York is quite a hub for African immigrants. Um we were able to watch with Moroccans, Ivorians, Seneagalles. Then we went up to Boston and with the Cape Verdians and um I think a little lesser known is the um massive amount of Cape Verdians in the Rhode Island, Massachusetts area.

[00:02:35]>> Oh my gosh. And so are you watching in people's homes? Are you in sports bars?

[00:02:39]Are you at stadiums?

[00:02:41]>> We've lucked out because we've hit kind of sweet spots um and arriving in some places like in Toronto, Ghana um was playing locally and the um commerce Ghana commerce organization organized a watch party and thousands of Ghanaians flooded the Canadian Time Square and you know it was the atmosphere was wonderful. They were playing their music. They were serving local food.

[00:03:11]There was vendors selling jerseys. Um, and we were really rewarded because in the 90 an extra time, Ghana scored a goal and won the game. And the we were transported to Ara in an instant.

[00:03:26]>> Crowd goes wild. So, Ghana defeats Panama with a late goal in this game. I I can imagine um the baited breath that the Ghana fans must have been feeling.

[00:03:37]And then comes this goal.

[00:03:40]>> THAT'S WHAT'S UP. GHANA, >> GET TROPHIES COMING TO GHANA. GET TROPHIES COMING AFRICA THIS TIME. WHAT'S FOR GHANA?

[00:03:47]>> THAT'S WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT.

[00:03:49]>> GHANA.

[00:03:56]>> So you said you were transported to Ara.

[00:03:58]Did have you seen differences in how these different communities are celebrating or are experiencing this World Cup?

[00:04:04]>> Yeah, for sure. I mean obviously results are part of it. Um the two places that everybody's paying attention to now are Kab and and Ghana because of the results. You know the great example is in in in Montreal. Um we were with the Seneagalles community and the Algerian community who didn't win and it was very muted. Um but within the day we were able to watch in a Seneagalles restaurant which was very enclosed and very communityoriented.

[00:04:33]Um, and then the Algerian community, which is a little bit more, I would say, public in Montreal. They have their own street where there's lots of Algerian owned businesses. Um, the local police kind of shut down the street and it kind of turned into a street festival.

[00:04:50]>> Um, obviously the vibe was more muted because they lost 3 nothing to Lionel Messi's hat-tick, but um, >> but yeah, it was really fascinating even to see that contrast within that one city. So, Boyma, we know that the atmosphere, as joyous and sometimes muted as it is, is only one side of the story. On the other side are the hurdles that it has taken people to get here, if they get here at all. And there's an irony in that. Um, so of course you're in Canada now, which is one of the hosts, along with Mexico, where you're going to go next, another of the hosts.

[00:05:27]But the United States is where you began this journey. And US President Donald Trump helped champion the North American bid for this World Cup, presenting it as a chance to welcome the world. Yet the tournament is now unfolding along with some pretty highprofile visa denials, travel restrictions, and other hiccups, shall we say. So, first walk us through some of what has happened so far, and then let us know how you make sense of that contrast.

[00:05:59]Well, so the two I think most high-profile cases, there's been quite a few, but um there was a Somali um referee um who came representing the calf, who's the Continental Confederation of Football, um Omar Artan. Um he was denied um under claims of his associates being sympathetic to um I say terrorist organizations. So the United States held him for, I believe, 11 hours and then deported him to Turkey. Um, which is devastating. You know, there's people that say that Somali tune in to games, they're so proud of him, they tune in to games just to watch him, >> you know, referee.

[00:06:46]>> In Mogadishu, thousands turned out to welcome home a man consider a national hero.

[00:06:52]at >> the 2025 African referee of the year was set to become the first Somali official to work at football's biggest tournament and that's that shows the power of the World Cup right this is this global stage where your nation you know it's either it's either doesn't exist in the minds of many or if it does exist you know a place like Somalia is often >> you know as the the policy shows is often demonized so yeah it was devastating for him but the other major one that got attention was Vozin, the the goalkeeper of Cababo Verde. Um he in an interview they asked him why he was crying after the game and he said I'm crying because my mother couldn't be here because she was denied the visa.

[00:07:36]And apparently the reason for her denial was because Donald Trump has required people from certain countries to have a deposit of $15,000 cash which is >> beyond the means of many including players on certain teams in the World Cup. And his mother wasn't allowed to be there. Now again social media backlash has caused um the United States government to intervene and they have waved I believe the fee. Uh for me this is very important because uh all the family it's uh important for me and uh uh all my family always support me in everything uh and to have uh she here for me it's uh something special >> you know I can only imagine the scores of people who have not been able to enjoy the tournament because of these restrictions. So the State Department, at least a State Department official, um told CNN that there was no record of his mother having applied for a visa and that all relatives of players were eligible for visa bond waiverss. But it's one thing to say that and it's another thing for players to know that for that to actually be true in their own circumstance, but we have this this this dust up and the backlash on social media which then causes the news to change. Do you see that as a win or do you see that as highlighting the failure of this policy in the first place?

[00:09:05]>> You know, I've talked to quite a lot of people about these visa issues and and for me it's like the United States, Europe, Canada all have a system of restriction in place that have made it difficult for average people just trying to get opportunity that's denied to them in their homelands. um maybe to work, to make money, to get education. Um it's just we live in a global system that restricts people people's movement. Um and while it is a feel-good story, you know, you really feel like the advocacy for more reform across the board um is necessary. And as much as I want to be with his mother, I don't believe the reunion is going to lead to systemic change.

[00:09:59]>> Yeah. So then back to the original first question here, what do you make of this contrast between Donald Trump saying, you know, he wants the World Cup here, but then knowing the restrictions the US had then and have only tightened since then and currently have, how do you how do you make sense of that disconnect and and how has that actually impacted the game that we've been watching?

[00:10:23]I think it's clear that what global football has become is an elite spectacle. And I think that um the World Cup is a showpiece for FIFA. They need to make sure the show goes on and the victims of whatever policies are in place, they're just victims and casualties of the greater goal. So, um I think it's just part of the way that global football is going in general. I think that um the powers that be want us more and more engaged through streaming and on our phones and on our devices.

[00:10:56]They raise the prices to what is, you know, very difficult for the average person to be able to attend games. But that's fine because there'll be enough people who will be able to afford it.

[00:11:08]they'll get their money and you know five billion people across the world are still going to watch the World Cup because they've made it cheap enough um to do that. And for example in Brazil Kaz TV which is a YouTube channel has made all of the World Cup free for all Brazilians on via YouTube.

[00:11:29]>> Wow. So, it's a wonderful thing, but again, FIFA is okay with these kind of concessions because >> they want to capture our eyeballs just like a tech company, if you will, you know, just like any platform. So, >> I think that the way that global society is going is one is that we're more and more isolated, more kind of driven into these um pockets of sociality instead of open borders and the opposite.

[00:11:57]>> Yeah. So, we've been talking about um the opposite of open borders and Iran is one of four countries including Haiti, Kotivo, and Sagal that are affected by these really strict travel bans under the Trump administration. FIFA's president, Giani Infantino, actually fended off concerns over these visa restrictions, saying the football organization's executives are not quote kings of the world and can't override government decisions. This, of course, was after FIFA awarded Donald Trump with the organization's inaugural Peace Prize, which happened back in December.

[00:12:36]So what do you think about the World Cup's ideals of openness and who is actually able to be part of that openness and cross borders and take part in it?

[00:12:47]>> Mhm.

[00:12:49]I mean I believe that the World Cup is bound up with the con contradictions of the conditions of our time and of any time. You know um if you do look back briefly at the past the first World Cup in Uruguay was under during the great depression social dem democ small small country social democracy Uruguay hosted and won the World Cup and it became a galvanizing force for their national identity. Um and then immediately after we have inter war Europe and Mussolini's Italy hosts and so from the outset you have this kind of spectrum of extremes on the left and the right in which FIFA is free of politics and can unite the world is the driving force you know. So um if this is the the motivation driving it, obviously the people the masses are going to be subject to the restrictions that the time um in which the tournaments are taking place.

[00:13:54]>> Yeah. Okay. So then let's talk about how those restrictions have actually played out on the field because let's say the Iranian team for example, right? Iranian Federation officials were denied visas.

[00:14:06]the Iranian team is forced to operate out of Mexico because of US restrictions. What does that actually look like for the play? What do you think that actually does for the fans?

[00:14:16]>> So, the agreement with the US government was that they would come in and play their games in the cities. They're I think LA, Seattle, and one more. They're scheduled to play, but they would have to leave the same day. So you have to come in and then after your game you have to get out within 24 hours which as you can imagine you're tired you play the game and you go to sleep in your hotel room bed but you have to get on a plane and travel back to Mexico.

[00:14:42]>> Um also the Iranian team is facing protests from Iranianameans who are against the government the current government in Iran. Um, so yeah, you're you're kind of representing your nation, but you're also in the midst of a political back and forth between powerful forces. I imagine it's disheartening, you know, for a team to have to fight political fights and, you know, when you're an athlete, you want to be locked in. You know, you want to be concentrating on the on the field on the results. And if you have to jump through hurdles, it's definitely going to affect the field of play. if your manager can't be there, you know, who's going to organize the tactics of the team. Um, and like I said with Sagal, you know, that was another example, um, where their supporters group is very loud and and kind of carries the team along and if they can't be there, that's going to affect the motivation of the players if they're used to having home fans there cheering them on. So, um, there football is a sport full of magic.

[00:15:46]You can plan every aspect of the game, but the beauty of it is that is unrehearsed chaos that re that results in a lastm minutee goal like Vinho with Spain. You know, I believe it was the largest gap difference in FIFA ranking for a draw at the World Cup. Um, those kind of moments of unexpected magic are integral, but they're also infected by these intangibles. So yeah, I can I can imagine that Edon's national team is very much affected by um the kind of atmosphere in which they're forced to operate.

[00:16:25]I'll be back with Boyma after the break.

[00:16:30]So boy, I want to go to the Magic now.

[00:16:32]Um let's talk about some of the actual matches themselves. Um with more teams in the World Cup this year, the tournament has felt bigger and perhaps maybe even more unpredictable. Um we have seen some early surprises. So you just referenced one that is when Cape Verde shocked everyone with a draw against Spain in their very first World Cup match. So this is Spain which is the European champion and and one of the favorites to win it all this World Cup.

[00:17:03]>> Should we read into this has a bigger tournament meant to shift for some of the more traditional legacy powerhouses?

[00:17:14]You know, I I would argue after the first round, don't don't hold me to this later in the rounds, but it really feels like this is Africa's cup so far. And it's and you know, and it's ironic because South Africa 2010 was, you know, hosted in South Africa.

[00:17:33]>> Africa's Cup. Ghana was the hopes of the, you know, the continent to make it to the semi-finals. It was devastated by you know Luis Suarez handball and the missed penalty by Asamoad Jan. But you know Africa's come a long way. First time the continent has 10 teams. That's a big deal. Every African nation maybe save South Africa and Algeria has performed above expectations.

[00:18:02]Morocco has tied with Brazil. If anybody follows football, you know that Brazil is a powerhouse. Um, Cabo Verde has tied with >> um, Spain. Cotivois beat Ecuador. Uh, Congo tied with Portugal. I mean, these are major teams that before the tournament people thought could contest for the cup itself. And Africa is showing that not only are we here in numbers, but we belong. And, you know, we'll be we'll be there at the finals in some way, shape, or form.

[00:18:36]Well, you'll be watching no matter what, right?

[00:18:38]>> Yeah, of course. Yeah.

[00:18:40]>> Um, and that is despite, I have to say, some of the negative aspects that we've just been talking about.

[00:18:46]>> Um, it's it's striking that the excitement around football always seems to cut through the politics.

[00:18:55]>> What have been some more striking moments that you have seen so far in this tournament? And as you're watching them, do you have to do some calculus in your head that you know I'm I'm watching this. I am exalting in this. I'm celebrating it. But I also remember that hey, the supporters of this team I'm watching couldn't be here to watch it with me.

[00:19:15]>> Yeah, I think well of course. I mean, that was definitely a thought watching Sagal. I was like, oh, the supporters aren't there. Another example is the Mexico opener with South Africa. Like Mexico played at home at the Aztec. you could feel the weight of history behind this moment. So I think that you are thinking about it. So the Cabo Verde like South Boston an integral part of the community but you don't really notice who's capian right until they put on a jersey and they're walking around with the flag and then you realize it's more than just the politics and you know these are people who in their daily lives are facing immigration restrictions. It's not just for the World Cup. It's not just to come watch your team. So, part of it is thinking beyond the tournament itself and realizing that these issues are going to be here >> when the tournament's over.

[00:20:08]>> Yeah. Well, you mentioned uh putting on a jersey. You are wearing one right now, which leads me to my question. Who should we be keeping an eye on as the games continue? Whose jersey are you wearing?

[00:20:19]>> Well, I have to preface this. I'm Sarah Leó descent, so I'm still waiting for our chance at the World Cup, but the closest nation physically and one that's always been close to my heart because we share similar recent histories with postconlict countries. Um, and I've always been a supporter of Kotivo since um, the days of DJ Drobba. So, this is Leont of Ivory Coast. I could see one or two African teams making it further than um um they ever have before for sure at least quarterfinal semi-finals. A final would be asking a lot. Um there's some really good teams. France looks very good. Argentina with Messi, you never can count them out. So, you know, to get past those would be would be quite a triumph. I'm holding out hope, but I'm not going to say that it's going to happen quite yet.

[00:21:19]>> Okay. Well, I am going to take that hope and um and spin it around to ask you one last question because you recently wrote a piece for Africa as a country entitled, what is the World Cup for? And in it, you argue something that you've mentioned here today about this tournament and that it is always oscillated between mass hope and elite spectacle. So, as we end this conversation so that you can get back to covering that spectacle, I wonder if any part of the tournament brings you enough hope that it can survive all that we've talked about today.

[00:21:55]>> Well, uh I'm going to turn the lens back on like the public here and I think traveling through cities, I've seen contrast in how people experience it.

[00:22:05]Obviously, local immigrant communities, they're in their home after the game's done. and they have to put their work shirt back on. They have to take their jersey off and go to work. But then I've also seen people from wealthier countries as tourists and enjoying, you know, so the Scottish, for example, are have taken over Boston and brought their kind of national pride and joy and integrated it within the local identity which is very Celtic in in Boston. So I think those moments are really hoping that people can remember this World Cup as one in which people across ethnic lines, national identities, class lines were able to briefly mingle, learn something about each other, and then when the next headlines about immigration come, realize that it's real people that are affected by these things. and and more than anything that those borders that we have in our daily lives are able to briefly be um overcome.

[00:23:11]>> Yeah. Boy, my beautifully said. Um thank you so much for doing this and for sharing a little window into what it's been like. I appreciate it.

[00:23:20]>> Thank you for having me. Wonderful talking to you.