Sunil Gulati Comments on Donald Trump's Immigration Ban and World Cup 2026 Bid

United States Soccer president Sunil Gulati said President Donald Trump's immigration ban may play a part in deciding whether the U.S. makes a bid to host the 2026 World Cup.

"Sports obviously involves international movement and free movement of players, of ideas," Gulati told reporters Sunday. "How this plays out in terms of international events, I think that's frankly a secondary issue right now. The issue involving the executive order and its implications are far broader than that."

Gulati would not say whether U.S. Soccer had an official position on the immigration ban, which went into place last week. President Trump signed an executive order that temporarily halted immigrants from seven countries, all with a majority Muslim population, from entering the United States.

The ban has led to protests from citizens, and members of the intelligence community and the Republican Party, which nominated Trump, have spoken out against the policy. Trump went on a tweet spree Monday morning defending the order, saying there are "a lot of bad 'dudes' out there."

On Saturday, U.S. soccer captain Michael Bradley posted an Instagram message condemning Trump and the so-called Muslim ban.

"When Trump was elected, I only hoped that the President Trump would be different from the campaigner Trump [and] that the xenophobic, misogynistic and narcissistic rhetoric would be replaced by a more humble and measured approach to leading our country. I was wrong. The Muslim ban is just the latest example of someone who couldn't be more out of touch with our country."

Gulati said he had "no issue" with Bradley's public comments.

The MLS Players Union issued a statement on Monday on the heels of Bradley's comments, saying it was "extremely disappointed by the ban" and feels "strongly that it runs counter to the values of inclusiveness that define us as a nation:"

FIFA was initially supposed to begin 2026 World Cup bidding in 2015 but postponed the process amid widespread corruption that saw multiple members of the organization arrested. The bidding is set to take place in May 2020.

"We're challenged by a number of things that are going on in the world," Gulati told reporters. "So let's see how those play out over the next few weeks before we make any decision about co-hosting or going alone or bidding at all."

Soccer is not the only sport concerned about the effects of the immigration policy. NBA spokesman Mike Bass confirmed the league reached out to the State Department to determine how the ban affects players from the seven countries on the list, per Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical. 

Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr also condemned the ban publicly Sunday, telling reporters that "we're really going against the principles of what this country is about and creating fear." Kerr's father was murdered in Beirut during an act of terror in 1984.