House of Representatives Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries has urged Marco Rubio to waive bond payments and allow Vozinha's mother to travel to the World Cup. The Cape Verde goalkeeper became a sensation after his Player of the Match performance against Spain, earning the minnows a historic point.
The reigning European Champions were held to a goalless draw by the nation listed 67th in FIFA world rankings. However, Vozinha spoke about his disappointment that his mother couldn't be in attendance to watch him shutout the likes of Lamine Yamal, Pedro and Manchester City star Rodri.
Vozinha's mother, Ana Candida Evora, was unable to watch the David vs Goliath clash at the Atlanta Stadium in Georgia as they couldn't afford the bond to pay for the VISA to enter the US. Cape Verdeans were among the list of countries that saw their citizens face bonds of up to $15,000 (£11k) to enter the country. Although Donald Trump's administration announced it was dropping the requirement for World Cup ticket holders, the costs had already forced Evora to rule out making the trip to Atlanta.
The minority leader of the United States House of Representatives sent a message to Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, calling for the imposed fees to be waived so that a mother could watch her son during the once-in-a-lifetime tournament. In a post to social media, Jeffries said: “No mother should miss the chance to see her child make history. I have asked Secretary of State Marco Rubio to do everything in his power to ensure that she can attend [the] next match on Sunday.”
The 40-year-old goalkeeper was left in tears after the momentous result for Cape Verde. However, his dream moment was tainted as he wished for his mother to join him. Speaking after the match, he said: "I cried because I grew up with my grandparents and unfortunately they were not here; they died a few years ago. They were everything for me, for my life. I also cried because my mum didn’t manage to be here because of the visa. Because of the money we had to pay for the visa, we didn’t manage to [get it done] on time. I would like her to be here, but I’m also very happy."
“I have worked my whole life for this moment. I’m 40 years old. I started playing football professionally when I was 25, in 2012. I thought about leaving but I continued because of this dream. This is for everyone. I was named man of the match but this is for all of my teammates because without them nothing would be possible. I will continue to work for Cape Verde and for the people."
Issues surrounding gaining access to the country, as well as the travel restrictions, have overshadowed the World Cup as it continues to enter the limelight. Senegal captain and former Chelsea defender Kalidou Koulibaly slammed the restrictions imposed on African countries. Senegal lost their group opener to France but a number of supporters were unable to attend with Senegalese nationals facing a US travel ban.
In December last year, Trump signed a proclamation which imposed partial travel bans on Senegal, as well as other World Cup participants to suffer similar fates were Ivory Coast, Iran and Haiti. This document suspended entry into the U.S. for immigrants and non-immigrants, including those travelling under business and tourism category, which is what they would tick in order to attend the World Cup.
Koulibaly said: "The federation did the work for us to have parents or our close family with us, but it’s true that some supporters couldn’t fly to America. I think that every team can have their people, so I don’t understand why people from Africa cannot have their people. I don’t want to speak about politics or something like this. I just want to speak about football, enjoy football, and I think football is for everybody. I just want to tell this and I hope that the situation will be OK, but for me the most important is that we have to play for our people."
