Gary Lineker has discussed applying for a visa to travel to North America for the World Cup 2026 and fears over being banned from the country. The England icon also revealed he has been in talks with the White House.

Ahead of the upcoming major tournament, concerns persist that many supporters and fans could be refused entry to the United States due to visa issues and Donald Trump’s immigration policies. Two nations set to compete in the tournament, Iran and Haiti, are under a US travel ban. There are also reports of journalists being subjected to social media monitoring and device searches upon entering the country. Lineker will be in North America for the competition as his podcast, The Rest Is Football, has signed a daily show deal with Netflix to be filmed in New York City.

“We live in crazy times,” said Lineker, speaking during a Q&A on LBC. “The whole world order is shifting quickly and obviously we don’t know what will happen with the World Cup. But I’ve got to be slightly careful [what I say] because I want them to let me in! But no, we’re well down the line [with a visa]. I think it’ll be fine. The White House have reached out to us.

“They’ve said how much they respect the podcast and want to play a part, which is.. Not him [Trump] obviously. The guy who’s in charge of the World Cup part of the White House, I should say.

“But I think we’ll be okay. I’ve covered so many World Cups and played in a couple and it’s always the same before. There are always concerns, there are always worries. Some of them are bigger than others.

“For Russia, [they hosted it] not long after they’d invaded the Crimea. Four years ago, there were all these things and people dying making the stadiums, building the stadiums. All this sort of stuff.

“There is always something before a major tournament. I remember in Brazil there were massive demonstrations by all the people, saying they’d spent all this money on stadiums and it wasn’t right that they were hosting the World Cup. South Africa had its issues.

“Everywhere we’ve been has and it’ll be the same in this one and people will speak about it and talk about it and then the football starts. Then, by and large, it’s always been alright from that point. I mean, I have my doubts and I have my worries and I have my concerns but I think it’ll be okay. I hope it’ll be okay but I don’t know because the world has gone mad!”