Soccer’s Gold Cup in Jeopardy

The partial shutdown of the federal government over a budget dispute has threatened to cause postponement of next week’s CONCACAF Gold Cup in Southern California because players from several competing nations are unable to obtain visas to enter the United States.

The nine-nation tournament for the championship of North and Central America and the Caribbean is scheduled to be played at the Coliseum, Anaheim Stadium and San Diego Jack Murphy Stadium Jan. 10-21.

But on Thursday world champion Brazil threatened to pull out of the event if its players are not given visas by the end of the week.

Former U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, an avid soccer fan, was lobbying the White House and State Department in an effort to allow the players to enter the country.