CONCACAF are working with Jamaican team Mount Pleasant after 10 of its players were unable to obtain visas for the club’s Champions Cup match against MLS team L.A. Galaxy on Wednesday.
The governing body for football in North America, Central America and the Caribbean was made aware of the situation and is now trying to resolve the issues in conjunction with Mount Pleasant.
The Jamaican Premier League side has six Haitian players in its squad, with Haiti being one of the 19 countries whose citizens have been banned from entering the United States by President Donald Tump.
Mount Pleasant sources, speaking anonymously to protect relationships, said a handful of Jamaican players have had also their visas rejected.
Although some of the players have had their visas denied, in most cases the main issue has been delays, such as some appointments not being scheduled until after Wednesday’s fixture.
This comes at a time when one of the biggest storylines regarding this summer’s World Cup — which is being jointly hosted by the U.S., Canada and Mexico — is around the Trump administration imposing travel bans to the United States.
Since Trump returned to the White House in January 2025, the U.S. has banned nationals from designated countries, including four countries — Haiti, Iran, Senegal and Ivory Coast — that have qualified for the World Cup.
There are exemptions for athletes, support staff and immediate relatives of competitors as the U.S. government can grant entry to the country for a major event, such as the World Cup, Olympics or other major sporting events.
Those exemptions, however, do not extend to travelling supporters.
Paul Christie, Mount Pleasant’s sporting director, told the Jamaica Observer: “We don’t want to just show up for the game, we want to be able to compete. But we are not being given the opportunity to be at our best.”
Christie also added that as a consequence of the visas being denied, Theodore Whitmore, the club’s head coach, will have to depend on “seven or eight academy kids” to make up the numbers.
The Champions Cup is CONCACAF’s signature club tournament and Mount Pleasant and LA Galaxy are meeting in the round of 16.
Mount Pleasant will host the second match in Kingston, Jamaica, on March 19.
