Supporters of the Ivory Coast national team have reportedly been denied visas to travel to the United States for the FIFA World Cup 2026, according to the president of the country’s official fan committee.
Julien Kouadio Adonis, head of the National Committee of Elephants Supporters (CNSE), told AFP that plans for organised travel had been cancelled after visa applications were rejected by US authorities.
He alleged that officials were told the United States would not be accommodating supporters from certain countries, including Ivory Coast, although he provided no official documentation to support the claim.
The situation has sparked concern among fans who had hoped to follow the team across North America during the tournament.
Ivory Coast is scheduled to play two of its group-stage matches in Philadelphia against Ecuador on June 15 and Curacao on June 25, with another fixture in Toronto against Germany.
Kouadio said the group had initially planned to send around 500 supporters to the tournament, while estimating that more than 1,000 fans could still attend independently. However, he confirmed that the organized trip has now been cancelled.
He added that a small number of CNSE officials had been cleared to travel to the United States to assist with coordinating any Ivorian supporters already in the country.
The claims add to growing attention around visa and immigration challenges affecting some delegations and fan groups ahead of the tournament, though US authorities have not publicly responded to the specific allegations made by the supporters’ committee.