Dave Davies

I'm Dave Davies, and this is Fresh Air.

The United States, under the Trump administration, has required bonds from $500 up to $15,000 for travelers from some countries to post when entering the United States to ensure that they won't remain there illegally.

And the administration has waived those bonds for those coming to the World Cup provided they bought their ticket by April 15th and entered the FIFA pass system.

So not just anybody, right?

We've talked about some of the difficulties with ticket prices, with immigration issues.

There's also just getting to the game if you're in the right city and you have a hotel booked.

And in the past World Cups, host countries have invested a lot in getting fans to and from matches.

I mean I read that in Russia in 2018, there were long-distance trains to get people from one Russian city to another that were no charge.

What was it like when you were in Qatar for the last World Cup?

This World Cup comes at a time when there is an Ebola outbreak in at least two African countries.

There are travel restrictions in the United States from some of those countries, including Congo, which is sending a team to the tournament and I think has a base in Houston.

How much of a concern, how much of disruption might this cause to World Cup matches?

Security is always a challenge at these things.

And, you know, it's interesting that two years ago at the Copa America Cup final in Florida, some fans actually stormed the stadium.

It was quite a chaotic scene.

Do you have any sense of what special security measures might be undertaken in these World Cup matches?

The United States is at war with Iran.

The Iranian team is being allowed to come, right?

I want to get this straight.

You and I are speaking on Monday.