Uncertainty grows regarding the participation of athletes from the island in the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
14ymedio, Havana, June 27, 2025 — The Cuban Volleyball Federation (FCV) called “unjust and discriminatory” the refusal of the US to grant visas to the team of Cuban volleyball players who aspired to participate in the Final Four of Norceca, to be held in Puerto Rico from July 16-21. It also expressed “uncertainty” about what “may happen in the future in the conduct of the country that will host the Olympic Games Los Angeles 2028, for which Cuba plans to qualify.
The FCV also says that the measure “hinders” the presence of the new Morenas del Caribe -as they call the national volleyball team- in “a qualifying event for the Central American and Caribbean Games of Santo Domingo 2026 and for Norceca and world ranking eligibility.”
According to the sports agency, the US Embassy in Havana denied visas to 16 members of the delegation: 12 athletes, two coaches, a referee and a team manager.
Journalist Yasel Porto Gomez published on the Facebook page of DPorto Sports LLC: “The refusal of visas to the women’s volleyball team only makes it clear that the presence of Cuba in the World Classic 2026 is far from becoming a reality.”
The reporter warned that “if the MLB (Professional Baseball League) does not negotiate things in time with the government of Donald Trump, it will again experience the same suspense of 2006 when we didn’t know until the last minute whether or not we would play.”.The difference, he estimated, is that there is a “greater chance now that for the first time in these events a team will lose all their games due to no-shows.”
The Por la Goma sports portal also reported that “tension continues to grow” between the US and Cuba. “This political corrosion continues to generate bitter situations completely unrelated to the field of sports,” it stressed. What is desirable “would be for both nations to reach an understanding and to absolutely exclude politics from sports.”
Por la Goma added that “until that happens, uncertainty will continue to affect the participation of athletes and coaches residing in Cuba, even at very important events.”
For its part, the official organization insisted that the refusal of visas reflects a position “alien to the precepts of the sport, which adds to what has already happened this year against delegations from other disciplines.”
Last May, the US denied visas to Cuban Olympic Committee president Roberto León Richards, International Olympic Committee vice president and member María Caridad Colón, and secretary Ruperto Herrera.
Leon and Herrera were unable to attend the meeting of the Executive Committee of Panam Sports in Miami, held between May 13 and 15, and a parallel meeting in Puerto Rico. Colón was absent from the “Women in Sports” Commission event.
In April, the Cuban Athletics Federation (FCA) reported that the US denied visas to 14 of 16 Cuban athletes. The governing body considered that this “unacceptable action” prevented the country from having a full delegation at the 2025 World Indoor Athletics Masters Championships, which took place in Gainesville (Florida) between the 23rd and 30th of March.
Translated by Regina Anavy
____________
COLLABORATE WITH OUR WORK: The 14ymedio team is committed to practicing serious journalism that reflects Cuba’s reality in all its depth. Thank you for joining us on this long journey. We invite you to continue supporting us by becoming a member of 14ymedio now. Together we can continue transforming journalism in Cuba.