The US President’s executive order banning nationals of certain Muslim majority countries could seriously jeopardize Los Angeles’ bid for the 2024 Summer Olympics.
David Wallechinsky, a US member of the International Olympic Committee’s cultural and heritage commission told the New York Times it was a ‘blow.’
Wallechinsky said there was already unease in the Olympic community after Trump won the election, due to his perceived ‘anti-Muslim, anti-woman and anti-Latino’ stance.
At a meeting at IOCs headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland, after the presidential election, Wallechinsky said he was repeatedly asked ‘What is wrong with your country?’
The administration’s policy could also hamper efforts to bring the 2026 soccer World Cup to the US.
US Soccer was likely to host the tournament either exclusively or as co-host as part of a North America bid.
That was to include Mexico, which in the present climate seems about as likely as President Trump taking his next vacation in Tehran.
Prior to the election, US Soccer official Sunil Gulati said: "I think a co-hosted World Cup with Mexico would be trickier if Secretary Clinton isn’t in the White House."
