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The Trump administration on Monday unveiled a new fast-track visa system for the millions of visitors expected to come to the US for the 2026 World Cup, but said fans could still be denied entry to the country despite holding tickets.

The Fifa prioritized appointment scheduling system, announced at the White House on Monday, will push World Cup ticket-holders to the front of the line for visa interviews. However, secretary of state Marco Rubio made clear that expedited processing does not mean automatic entry.

“Your ticket is not a visa. It doesnâ€t guarantee admission to the US,†Rubio said. “It guarantees you an expedited appointment. Youâ€re still going to go through the same vetting. Weâ€re going to do the same vetting as anybody else would get. The only difference here is weâ€re moving them up in the queue.â€

The warning suggests non-American citizens within the roughly million people who have already bought tickets could find themselves barred from entering the country despite holding valid match passes and securing faster appointment slots.

Fifa president Gianni Infantino said World Cup officials would eventually sell up to 6 to 7 million tickets and told reporters in the Oval Office “weâ€ll have between five and 10 million people coming to America from all over the worldâ€.

So far, most demand has been domestic: the US, Mexico and Canada will be co-hosting the tournament next June and make up the majority of ticket holders. But Fifa said people from 212 different countries and territories have also already bought their tickets.

To handle the surge in applications, Rubio said the state department has deployed more than 400 additional consular officers worldwide, in some cases doubling embassy staff. The measures have already slashed visa wait times from up to a year to 60 days or less in approximately 80% of countries, according to Rubio.

“In places, for example, like Brazil and Argentina, you would have [had] over a year to get an appointment. Now you can get [one] in less than two months,†Rubio said.

Separately, Trump threatened to relocate matches from host cities he deems problematic, singling out Seattle and its new democratic socialist mayor. The city is scheduled to host six games.

“If we think thereâ€s going to be the sign of any trouble, I would ask [Fifa president] Gianni [Infantino] move that to a different city. We have a lot of cities that would love to have it,†Trump said. “If we think thereâ€s a problem in Seattle where you have a very, very liberal-slash-communist mayor … weâ€re going to move the event to some place where itâ€s going to be appreciated and safe.â€

The president said he would be willing to deploy the national guard to Los Angeles, another host city, citing concerns with crime and demanding California officials request federal assistance immediately.

“I would love to send in [the] national guard, or whoeverâ€s necessary to help them,†Trump said. “If thereâ€s even a hint of a problem, we want to get in there before the problem. We want to make it totally safe for [Infantino] and Fifa and all the great people that are going to be there.â€

Trump called the tournament a “once-in-a-lifetime opportunity†for the country. The US previously hosted the World Cup in 1994. The 2026 edition kicks off in the summer, and will be the first to feature 48 teams, expanded from the traditional 32.

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October 20, 2025 | Table Tennis England

There are just a few days left to get entries in for the Cadet section of the Youth British Clubs League for the 2025/26 season.

The competition, alongside the Cadet British Clubs League, is aimed at grassroots players looking to get some competitive experience and are for Under-15s (Cadet BCL) and Under-19s (Junior BCL).

They take place at 16 localised venues on four weekends throughout the season and last year attracted more than 150 junior and 260 cadet teams.

To take part in the Cadet British Clubs League, you have to get entries and payment in before the closing deadline on Wednesday 29th October.

The core dates* for the 2025/26 season are:

Cadets: Sundays 30 November 2025, 11 January 2026, 1 February 2026, 15 March 2026

* Local variations for some dates can be found in the invitation letter. Please check if your area is impacted by date changes.

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September 22, 2025 | Paul Stimpson

Eleven Olympic medallists, including one champion, head a star-studded entry list for the WTT Star Contender London at the iconic Copper Box Arena next month.

Top-20 world-ranked players from Japan, Chinese Taipei and Hong Kong are heading our way, along with some of Europeâ€s strongest players, including the likes of Bernadette Szocs, Dimitrij Ovtcharov, Darko Jorgic and Anders Lind.

Englandâ€s top players will also be in action, along with Wales†Anna Hursey – and there is still the chance to put yourself at the heart of the action, with tickets still available for the early days of the competition, which starts on 21 October.

Who are the mega-stars heading to London?

The Olympic gold medallist heading to the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park is Japanâ€s Mima Ito (WR 8), who won the Mixed Doubles title alongside Jun Mizutani in her home nation in the delayed 2020 Olympics.

Ito has no fewer than four Olympic medals, having won Womenâ€s Team silver in Paris last year, as well as Womenâ€s Singles and Womenâ€s Team bronzes in 2020.

Mima Ito on top of the podium with Jun Mizutani at Tokyo 2020

She spearheads a world-leading contingent from Japan who are inbound for London, with siblings Tomokazu and Miwa Harimoto likely to be top seeds in the respective Menâ€s Singles and Womenâ€s Singles events.

Both are also Olympic medallists – Tomokazu (WR 4) having been in the bronze medal-winning Menâ€s Team in Tokyo and Miwa (WR 6) in the squad which took Womenâ€s Team silver in Paris.

Germanyâ€s Dimitrij Ovtcharov is one of the most decorated table tennis athletes of the modern era, having won six Olympic medals overall – team silvers in 2008 and 2020 and bronzes in 2012 and 2016, as well as singles bronzes in both 2012 and 2020. He also has five World Championships medals and a bulging collection of titles at European level, including 10 European Championships golds.

Dimitrij Ovtcharov on his way to bronze at Tokyo 2020

Also coming to London are Womenâ€s Singles bronze medallist from Paris, Hina Hayata (WR 13), and two-time team silver medallist Miu Hirano (WR 32).

The bronze medal-winning Mixed Doubles pair from Tokyo 2020 – Lin Yun-Ju (WR 11) and Cheng I-Ching (WR 15) of Chinese Taipei – further add to the stardust of the event.

South Koreaâ€s World No 17 Shin Yubin (Mixed Doubles bronze and Womenâ€s team bronze from Paris 2024), Hong Kongâ€s Doo Hoi Kem (WR 39; Womenâ€s Team bronze 2020) and Germanyâ€s Shan Xiaona (WR 64; Womenâ€s Team silver 2016) are the other Olympic medallists who have entered.

There is a stack of other high-ranking players who have the London date circled in their diaries, including No 1 female European player Bernadette Szocs (WR 16) of Romania and multiple Europe Top 16 champion Darko Jorgic (WR 10) of Slovenia.

World No 12 female Shi Xunyao of China and Franceâ€s world No 28 Prithika Pavade are in the Womenâ€s Singles entry list.

On the menâ€s side, top attractions include Denmarkâ€s Anders Lind (WR 14), Dang Qiu of Germany (WR 16) and Japanese trop Shunsuke Togami (WR 20), Sora Matsushima (WR 24) and Hiroto Shinozuka (WR 28).

Which home-grown talents are playing?

GB rising star Anna Hursey and a clutch of English athletes will test themselves against some of the best in the world at the WTT Star Contender London.

Hursey, still a teenager, has proved she belongs in stellar company, having recently impressed against world No 1 Sun Yingsha of China on her WTT Champions debut in Macao.

Anna Hursey takes on Sun Yingsha

She will be seeded into the main draw – the only British player to automatically be included in that stage after Tom Jarvis just missed the cut-off.

Jarvis is the highest ranked English male player in the field in the absence of the injured Liam Pitchford, and he is joined by Sam Walker and Connor Green, three of the quartet who will represent England at the European Championships just before the Star Contender.

Tin-Tin Ho leads the English female contingent, which features some exciting young talents keen to grab a chance to shine in exalted company. Tianer Yu, Ella Pashley and Jasmin Wong will feature after first representing England at the Europeans, and they will be joined in London by Sophie Earley, Mari Baldwin and Sienna Jetha.

More English players could still be added to the field, with wildcards yet to be confirmed.

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