Dream of Caribbean World Cup participation is cruelly crushed.
The Cayman Islands' football squad is primarily composed of amateurs. However, this group of players managed to achieve a remarkable win in the World Cup qualifier. Sadly, they couldn't capitalize on their success as some players faced the risk of having their US visas revoked.
The Cayman Islands' football team has created history. In the 2026 World Cup qualifiers, this team from the British overseas territory scored its first victory in a World Cup qualifying match in nearly thirty years. The dream of a World Cup for the tiny Caribbean island with a population of 70,000 is finally becoming a reality. But unfortunately, this football dream for the tiny nation was abruptly cut short.
Following a 1-0 triumph against Antigua and Barbuda (ranked 142nd in the world), the Cayman Islands team was scheduled to play in Cuba on Tuesday. However, the team from the remote British islands failed to travel to Havana. In turn, the game was given a 3-0 win to Cuba.
Numerous players on the Cayman Islands team are based in the United States, attending American universities. They also possess a student visa to study in the US, as well as an ESTA in their passports as British nationals. This combination of visas led them to fear that after the Cuba game, they could no longer return to the United States.
Cuba is considered a state sponsor of terrorism by the United States, as Donald Trump classified the socialist state as such when he was president. As a result, individuals who have visited Cuba since early 2021 are unable to enter the country without a visa. Simply filling out an ESTA form is not enough for entry - it's currently insufficient.
If a person who has been to Cuba with an ESTA wishes to visit the US, they will be denied entry. The Cayman Islands football team's players studying in the US could have faced the revocation of their student visas, as reported by the Cayman Compass. A new visa application process would take one to three months, during which "a personal appointment at the US embassy in Jamaica is required."
So, the Cayman Islands team decided against traveling to Cuba. "I didn't want to risk one of these boys having their ESTA or student visa revoked over a game," told the Cayman Compass, Alfredo Whittaker, president of the football association. Whittaker had attempted to have the match played in the Dominican Republic instead of Cuba two months prior, but Concacaf, FIFA, and the Cubans opposed the idea. "We don't blame them," Whittaker commented.
The Cayman Compass shares that the issue does not exclusively affect the island's football players. "Residents of the Cayman Islands have been prevented from entering the United States due to previous trips to Cuba," the article stated. The team's next match in the World Cup qualifiers will be played by the amateur players of this football underdog next year. Their opponent is another British overseas territory - Bermuda. These players in the Cayman Islands team should have no issues entering the United States following that match.
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Despite their victory against Antigua and Barbuda, the Cayman Islands soccer team faced a significant setback when some players feared revoking of their US visas due to potential travel to Cuba for the World Cup 2026 qualifiers. This predicament arose due to Cuba being considered a state sponsor of terrorism by the USA.
Regrettably, this situation prevented the Cayman Islands team from participating in the upcoming match against Cuba, potentially jeopardizing their chances of qualifying for the 2026 Soccer World Cup, given the team's heavy American influence and players' reliance on student visas and ESTAs.
