President Donald Trump will make concessions to any existing travel ban should Los Angeles’s bid for the 2024 Olympics be successful, the head of the LA bid committee said.
Gene Sykes said Trump has signalled strong support for bringing the greatest sporting show on earth back to the US and would ‘make accommodations’ if a travel ban is still in effect by then.
The Administration would allow ‘free access to people’ to compete, Sykes said.
"He wants the Olympic Games badly enough that if anything the administration does gets in the way of free access for people at international sporting events in the United States, I would daresay that includes FIFA, they will make accommodations," Sykes told Reuters.
However that may not be enough to sway International Olympic Committee members to vote for the LA bid ahead of competitor Paris.
IOC members will choose between Los Angeles and Paris in September.
The US is also keen to co-host the 2026 soccer World Cup which could be even more problematic.
The head of governing body FIFA Gianni Infantino has said Trump’s executive order could be a major obstacle.
Perhaps more damaging is the prospect of a wall between two of the tournament hosts.
Regional body CONCACAF is pushing for a three-way joint bid between the US, Canada and Mexico.
