Fox Sports soccer analyst Alexi Lalas has never been shy about sharing his political views. Those who know Lalas know that he is a proud supporter of President Donald Trump.
That support helped him secure an invite to Washington D.C. during the first meeting of the President’s FIFA World Cup 2026 Task Force earlier this year, a group tasked with preparing the country to host the quadrennial soccer event next summer. Few are perhaps better qualified to share his opinion on the event than Lalas, who starred for the U.S. Men’s National Team the last time the country hosted the World Cup in 1994, and is the only person to serve as a studio analyst for the event on America’s primary broadcaster in each iteration since 2010.
But politics have already cast doubt over the United States’ ability to host the thousands of foreign tourists planning to descend on the country starting next June. Concerns over Trump’s immigration policies have some observers fearing foreign tourists could be at risk of apprehension by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The Trump administration has directed ICE to crack down on immigration, especially in larger cities like those that will host World Cup matches.
Whether or not these fears will be realized come next summer, the concerns are already out there in the minds of potential World Cup tourists. And Alexi Lalas believes “that is a problem.” In an interview with Adam Wren of Politico, Lalas explained his position.
“Yeah. I mean, look at the perception that people have of where America is right now, as we’re talking about it, less than a year away from the World Cup. While I can disagree with that perception, it doesn’t mean that it’s not valid and it’s not out there in terms of the way people view the United States,” the Fox Sports analyst told Wren.
“If what they are seeing, what they are reading, turns them off from taking that vacation through the World Cup, that is a problem. I want to try to change that perception to the extent that I can. If you want to support your country and you want to support your team, and you pass the vetting process, you are going to have a wonderful time. And then hopefully that message is brought back, and so we can start to change some of that perception out there. But I’m not denying the fact that there are negative perceptions of what America is right now out there.”
The most straightforward way to change that perception would be to change how the Trump administration enforces immigration policy. After all, it is the administration’s enforcement that has caused concern in the first place. Absent of that unlikely change, it will be on the United States to sufficiently communicate safety to prospective tourists looking to attend the World Cup. That seems to be the solution Lalas is advocating for.
Credit to him for acknowledging the perception problem is real, even if the particulars of the actual issue are debatable. With just nine months until the World Cup kicks off next year, the U.S. needs to ensure visitors are comfortable entering the country to attend matches.
That sounds like a perfect job for the FIFA World Cup 2026 Task Force.
About Drew Lerner
Drew Lerner is a staff writer for Awful Announcing and an aspiring cable subscriber. He previously covered sports media for Sports Media Watch. Future beat writer for the Oasis reunion tour.