African players in the NWSL shouldn’t pay the price for the Trump administration’s xenophobia.

Zambia chose to remove four players from their latest women’s squad due to fears new immigration policy could make it harder for their US-based players to re-enter the country at the end of international break.

In recent months, the US government has withdrawn visas from several foreign nationals, while increased border security has resulted in reports of tourists and legal migrants being detained.

The Copper Queens are playing Thailand and Uzbekistan at a tournament in China, but superstars like Barbra Banda, Racheal Kundananji, Prisca Chilufya and Grace Chanda have not travelled.

Let’s be real about this. Some of the world’s best players were advised against representing their country because the United States government has made it the norm to dehumanise its foreign citizens. That should never be normalised.

With a World Cup on the horizon in 2026, the USA’s increasingly hostile political backdrop dims optimism about their capability of hosting the world’s biggest sporting event. If past host nations faced fair criticism for lacking empathy and equality for all people, the US must be held to the same standard. Authoritarian governments have no place in football.

This is another reminder that it’s impossible to separate politics and football. The players and fans who are directly affected by weaponised politics never have such a choice. Political actions have real consequences for real people.

Zambia’s players deserve so much better. We need to call this out before even more players face the same fate.