The US expects fans to flock to the World Cup. But has Trump scored an own goal?

Washington: The US government is expecting more than 5 million foreigners to travel to America for next year’s FIFA World Cup despite declining overall visitor numbers and fears about US President Donald Trump’s immigration and border security crackdown.

Preparations for the 39-day event – the biggest soccer tournament in history – involve a $US1 billion ($1.5 billion) grant for security measures and $500 million to combat unlawful drones, which have been flagged as a key security risk.

Trump appointed the son of his former lawyer Rudy Giuliani to run the White House’s World Cup taskforce. Briefing foreign media in Washington before Saturday’s (AEDT) draw, Andrew Giuliani was inundated with questions about whether foreign visitors from various nations would be allowed into Trump’s America or face discriminatory treatment at the border.

A Dutch reporter told Giuliani there was concern in the Netherlands about whether fans would be able to enter the United States, especially if they had participated in protests or said critical things on social media.

“Are people welcome regardless of their race, what they believe, the colour of their skin in this United States of America?” the reporter asked.

Concerns have only increased since Trump reacted to the shooting of two National Guard soldiers, allegedly by an Afghan refugee, by vowing to crack down on travel and immigration from certain countries.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said she was urging a “full travel ban on every damn country that’s been flooding our nation with killers, leeches and entitlement junkies”, without naming the nations.

Trump this year blocked or partly blocked entry to all foreign nationals from 19 countries, including Afghanistan, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen. World Cup athletes, coaches, support staff and immediate relatives are exempt, but not soccer fans.

There have also been reports of people from a range of countries, including Australia, being interrogated at the US border and deported.

Giuliani said every visa decision was a national security decision, but Trump had made a deliberate effort to cut application waiting times so people could enter the US legally.

The government had already scheduled an additional 300,000 visa appointments, he said, and waiting times had fallen significantly. Last month, Trump announced an expedited visa program for World Cup ticket holders.

“There is a fictional narrative out there that the president is not welcoming foreigners,” Giuliani said.

Asked about a Trump rant this week in which he branded people from Somalia “garbage”, Giuliani said: “The president has a unique style. I think it’s why he’s such an effective leader … why he actually is the consummate host for this incredible World Cup.”

There is also concern domestically about whether asylum seekers or undocumented migrants living in the US could be targeted by Immigration and Customs Enforcement during the World Cup.

In July, an asylum seeker who took his children to the Club World Cup final in New Jersey was arrested in the American Dream Mall car park and repatriated, according to Human Rights Watch.

Giuliani said he believed the man in question was illegally flying a drone. When pressed, he refused to rule out ICE raids at soccer stadiums during the World Cup.

“We’re having continuous conversations with this,” he said. “The president does not rule out anything that will help make American citizens safer.”

Giuliani said the government expected 5 to 7 million international visitors would travel to the US for the event, which coincides with celebrations for America’s 250th anniversary of independence.

That dramatically exceeds earlier estimates of 1.2 million visitors, though FIFA president Gianni Infantino claimed as many as 10 million people could visit the three co-hosting nations: Canada, Mexico and the US.

The latest Department of Commerce data shows overseas visitors to the US are down 2.5 per cent this year, driven by large declines from France and Germany. The number of Australians visiting the US has fallen by 5.6 per cent. When isolated to tourist visas – by far the biggest category – that increases to 6.4 per cent.

Giuliani pointed this masthead to a different statistic, saying that in the first six months of this year, foreign visitors to the US spent a record $US126.9 billion.

The Trump administration is also scrambling to co-ordinate better public transport options across 11 US host cities in a country where most people drive or ride-share to stadiums for concerts and major sporting events. For example, the venue for the final, MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, has a capacity between 80,000 and 90,000, but typically, only 7000 to 11,000 would attend by public transport.

“The Department of Transportation is very aware that Americans travel differently from Europeans and South Americans,” Giuliani said.

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