Lei's Blog

US ban on Tongan national has affected Tonga’s national football team preparations

A partial ban on visa issuances for Tongan nationals under the Presidential Proclamation 10998 which came into effect on 1st of January, 2026. The restrictions came about after the US cited a 6.45 percent B-1/B-2 visa overstay rate, lack of birth registrations, and alleged failure to repatriate deportees.

However, Tonga’s national football team who has qualified to be in the Outrigger Challenge Cup in June this year is suffering the consequences. The majority of the players aren’t able to travel due to the visa restrictions. One of the Tongan athletes, Maikeli Lomu took it to social media seeking help in recruiting anyone who has any Tongan blood and who would be keen to represent Tonga in the Outrigger Challenge Cup in June at Arkansas, USA.

“The Tongan men’s team is headed to the Outriggers Cup this June in the United States. The only issue is a lot of our players can’t come. Due to the travel ban and other difficulties with visa applications for Tongan citizens, a lot of people aren’t even allowed to step foot in the US,” he said.

“That said, we’re relying on the Tongan diaspora to make up this team. We currently have about half the team made up of Tongan footballers including myself and players from around the world. But we still need more if you or someone you know is Tongan, meaning they have a Tongan parent or grandparent, they qualify to play on this team. If you play other sports like rugby, American football, basketball, volleyball, pickleball, we still need your participation,” he added.

Desperate times calls for desperate measures. Lomu resides in Utah, USA and is willing to train any Tongan athletes who will put their hand up to represent Tonga.

His plea on his TikTok account has attracted a lot of Tongan nationals around the world and in the US, some of them are willing to play and represent Tonga. Even people who cannot play football or have never played in any sports are eager to represent their country on the international stage of football.