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Last Updated:March 10, 2026, 13:35 IST
Mount Pleasant's sporting director Paul Christie stated that the visa problem would place the team at a competitive disadvantage.
Mount Pleasant will have to field a makeshift line-up on Wednesday. (Representative Image/AFP)
As many as 10 footballers of the Jamaican team Mount Pleasant have been unable to secure US entry visas for their CONCACAF Champions Cup match against Los Angeles Galaxy on Wednesday, club officials have confirmed. Mount Pleasant travelled to Los Angeles on Sunday with an 18-man squad, including five academy players, after visa issues severely impacted the team’s roster.
Seven players on the Mount Pleasant squad are Haitian nationals, highlighting a significant issue for this year’s World Cup, which will be held in the United States, Canada, and Mexico.
Haiti is among the 19 countries affected by US President Donald Trump’s immigration policies, which suspended Haitian nationals’ entry to the US under a presidential order issued last June.
While athletes participating in major events like the World Cup and Olympics are exempt from the ban, it was unclear if CONCACAF’s regional club tournament was included in these exceptions.
Mount Pleasant’s sporting director Paul Christie stated that the visa problem would place the team at a competitive disadvantage as they prepare to face the 2024 MLS Cup champions this week.
“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 told the Jamaica Observer.
Christie mentioned that Mount Pleasant “had not been given the opportunity to field our best starting 11."
US media reports indicate that CONCACAF, the regional football body for North America, Central America, and the Caribbean, has been attempting to resolve the issues.
A CONCACAF spokesman did not immediately provide a comment on the situation.
As a result, Mount Pleasant’s head coach Theodore Whitmore will need to create a makeshift line-up for Wednesday, drawing from a team that includes five members of Jamaica’s under-20 team.
First Published:
March 10, 2026, 13:35 IST
News sports football 10 Footballers Denied Visas To USA For CONCACAF Champions Cup
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