Olympic organizers for the 2028 Los Angeles Games are coordinating with federal agencies to prevent the type of visa problems and entry denials that have affected participants in the ongoing soccer World Cup, according to International Olympic Committee president Kirsty Coventry, who spoke Wednesday.
“I am confident that in two years we will be able to overcome a number of the challenges that the World Cup is facing right now. But I think that also takes collaboration and learning,” Coventry stated during a media briefing in Lausanne following an IOC executive board session.
IOC sports director Pierre Ducrey noted that specialized staff within the organizing committee are addressing these concerns.
“They have an office in Washington, there is a strong relationship they are building with the authorities, with the right agencies that will have to be involved in this process,” Ducrey explained.
“I think it’s also a lot about explaining who is going to be coming, the profile of the people, the role they have to play so that we can also spend a lot of time educating the agencies and make sure we are all on the same page regarding what is going to happen in 2028.”
Entry complications have already emerged during the World Cup, which started Thursday across the U.S., Canada and Mexico.
Iran’s national team relocated their preparation camp from Arizona to Mexico and will only be permitted U.S. entry one day prior to each of their three games, while a referee from Somalia was refused American entry just days before competition began.
During the Lausanne gathering, IOC executive board members endorsed adding ski mountaineering, which premiered at February’s Milano Cortina Olympics, to the 2030 Winter Games in the French Alps.
“The French Alps organising committee proposed… to add ski mountaineering to the 2030 Winter Olympic programme edition. The (executive board) has decided to approve this and will put that forward to our session in two weeks,” Coventry announced.
Board members rejected including “crossover sports” like cyclocross for the 2030 Games while keeping future possibilities open.
“We decided, very clear, for the upcoming Winter Olympics that we would like to keep the identity of winter sports of snow and ice… no crossover at the moment. It could be in the future,” stated Karl Stoss, chair of the Olympic programme working group.
The IOC’s 146th session will convene June 24 and 25 in Lausanne.
