The England national football team has hired a plane for the World Cup that was previously used by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents to transport deportees out of the United States as part of Donald Trump's immigration policy, according to reports.
Plane Used for Deportations
The same aircraft, reportedly enjoyed by players such as Declan Rice and Harry Kane, even appeared in a video shared by former President Trump. The footage showed men, alleged to be Venezuelan gang members, being escorted by heavily armed police officers on and off the plane before being sent to El Salvador's notorious CECOT high-security prison, as reported by The Daily Mail.
The bizarre connection appears to have occurred because England's administrative staff used the same charter company, Global X, that the U.S. government employs to transfer deportees to countries including Haiti, Honduras, and Mexico.
Iran Also Used the Same Plane
The very same plane was also reportedly used by Iran's team while flying from their training base in Tijuana, Mexico, to Los Angeles ahead of their opening fixture against New Zealand.
Training Gear Theft Incident
This revelation follows a separate incident where England's training gear was stolen from the back of a van. Players' boots and crucial equipment, including analysis kits, Thomas Tuchel's whiteboards, and massage tables, were allegedly taken during transit. England staff loaded a van with essential gear ahead of the move to Missouri but were stunned when it failed to arrive in Kansas City.
Sky Sports reported that most of the equipment has now been recovered. Staff reportedly raced against time to source replacement gear ahead of England's opening fixture against Croatia on June 17. Two arrests have been made in connection with the theft.
In a statement, Kansas City police said: "We are investigating a possible theft of equipment from a team vehicle that arrived in Kansas City with items missing this evening. The investigation is ongoing."
