'A World Cup for them not us': Fans' anger at US travel bans and visa restrictions

'A World Cup for them not us': Fans' anger at US travel bans and visa restrictions10 minutes agoShareSaveAdd as preferred on GoogleNadia HuraimiBBC News ArabicAbdulla AdnanIraqi fan Abdulla Adnan has been unable to get a visa to travel to the US to see his country playWhen Iraq's football team qualified for the World Cup at the end of March, Abdulla Adnan bought tickets for his country's matches against Norway and France, which will be played in the US cities of Boston and Philadelphia this month."To go to a match, a stadium, a crowd, cheering, and see my team - that is worth the world to me," he says. "It's a feeling that no other feeling can compare to." This is only the second time Iraq has qualified for the World Cup - the first was in 1986.But getting a visa is proving difficult.And Adnan is not alone. Fans from more than a quarter of the countries taking part in the World Cup are facing travel bans, tighter restrictions or high visa rejection rates, analysis of travel data by the BBC World Service shows.However, Iraq is not on Trump's travel ban list, so in Adnan's case, the obstacle was an unexpected one.After the start of the US-Israel war with Iran, the US suspended routine consular services in Iraq due to concerns about security in the region. This means there is nowhere in the country where Adnan and other Iraqi fans can get visas, as they have to attend an in-person interview.So Adnan travelled to neighbouring Jordan to try to get a visa at the US embassy there. But when he arrived for his appointment, staff told him that because he wasn't a Jordanian citizen, that embassy could not give him a visa.The tickets for the match and the trip to Jordan cost him about $1,800 (£1,300).Adnan considered applying for visa in Turkey, but the as the process could take up to two weeks, he decided that he couldn't spend that much time away from home. He has given up on trying to get a visa.Fans from...