Yes - count me in. It has to be done legitimately though. I'm willing to go through the paperwork to do everything legally. If I go, I'm going to have an American flag in the stands, and I'll want to be able to answer any questions honestly when I return. Having a friendly between a US Supporters group and a local Cuban Amateur team would make it even more fun. We'd probably get asses kicked though. Given Cuba's current leadership crisis, perhaps the US Gov't will be more willing to allow trips such as these. But then again maybe not.
All USA-Cuba team exchanges are held under the auspices of the World Amateur Athletic Congress (WAAC, with 16 member nations) and are fully licensed and legal for US citizens. Teams and individuals traveling with USA-Cuba for athletic competitions and cultural exchanges are hosted by Cuban sports organizations and comply with all US Treasury Department (OFAC) regulations for legal travel to Cuba. It looks like this would be the route to go: set up a game or 2. But this is a FIFA event, and as such, it would seem to me to outside of what USA-Cuba LLC can accommodate. If you can go this route, have at it! And have fun! Who knows when you'd have a chance to do something similar.
Cuban-issued permission was easily paid for in the airport (AMERICAN DOLLARS NO LONGER ACCEPTED). And that's why I said or boat over from the Caribbean. That's the easiest way. Go to Jamaica, hop a boat, and boom, you're in Cuba. Go to Guyana, hop a plane, and fly to Cuba. That easy people. In other countries money talks.
And if your passport gets stamped when you go from Cuba to wherever, that's tangible proof that you've left that country, so you run the risk of being asked to explain that by a US Customs agent. It's then extremely probable that they'll go through your luggage like nobody's business and you BETTER not have any evidence of a trip to Cuba. Like I said, an experienced traveler can handle him or herself and knows the risks involved. I'm just extremely wary of advising ppl who you don't know to go ahead and break a law that could land them a fine of tens of thousands of dollars. If you travel abroad a lot and rarely get stopped by Customs and you can sneak in all sorts of stuff ... the risk is minimal. Me? I get stopped so often it's sick. I've been officially interrogated twice now, and I never get to bring back cheeses and rum (more than 2 bottles) and stuff, whereas my girlfriend and my dad have carte blanche. I was sweating bullets when I returned from Cuba, and I wouldn't have been nearly as bad if our passports hadn't been stamped in Jamaica. You just never know, that's all.
I actually might know a way for a group like Sam's Army or a group of USMNT supporters to get legal travel to Cuba. I used to work for US Congressman Jeff Flake from Arizona. Flake is working on opening travel to Cuba and has had several trips to the island, as have his staff. I am sure that if Sam's Army and/or USSF contacted his office, then maybe he could at least bring it up as yet another reason why our travel restrictions are out dated. He might be able to help get the proper Treasury Dept. approval. Just a thought. http://flake.house.gov/Contact/
I talked to a friend of mine yesterday who has traveled to Cuba several times. He is a flyfisherman who plans trips to Belize, spends some time there and then makes the jump to Cuba. He told me of the four times that he went, leaving from Belize, that they only stamped his passport once. The one time that they did stamp it, he had a piece of paper in his passport wich got stamped instead of his passport. The guy is legit and says it is not difficult ata all to get ina nd out of Cuba if you know what you are doing.
Odd this, I've been to Cuba twice, the last time was almost 10 years ago, and no one stamped anything either there or in any of the 8 other Caribbean nations I visited unless you asked them to because you wanted the stamp. No one in Cuba said a word, they were all awesome actually, and while organizing the trips was definitely a little bit more of a hassle than going to, say, Antigua, it really wasn't that difficult. It was frankly harder to get into the BVI's the one time I bothered to go through customs there instead of just coming over from St Thomas in a boat, they're super anal about drugs. Things are different now perhaps?
We had been told the same thing: just point out that you do not want it stamped. But the Jamaican Customs guy was a real stickler, a "by the rules" guy. The thing was that we had to spend the night in Montego Bay, so to the US Customs official it would be quite obvious that we spent only one day in Jamaica, which is weird, so if he looked further and saw the 2nd stamp, it would've been obvious that we had left for another country. My guy saw the first stamp from 2+ weeks earlier, thought nothing of it and waved me through. My girlfriend had a different problem b/c she went for a total of 6+ weeks and had a brand spanking new passport. Her agent saw the 2nd stamp, but b/c she got delayed by the hurricane for 3 days, a 4 day trip to Montego Bay didn't raise any red flags. She got waved through. But had her flight not been canceled, she would've been forced to tell a Customs agent that she had been to Cuba. And then she would've been grilled, delayed, harassed, etc. Like the fly-fisherman guy above, the key is to spend time in the 3rd country to avoid raising suspicion.
I've been to Jamaica and Trinidad once each and my passport was stamped in both (without me asking)... as it was in Guatemala, Costa Rica, Bermuda, and the airport in Mexico City. To complete my CONCACAF travels, they stamped my passport at the Montreal airport but not the Toronto one.
kayak? funny, when I went to BVI on a whim from USVI I forgot my passport or any ID besides a library card and they only required a twenty dollar bribe. And didn't search for drugs. seems to be hit or miss. how much would the fine by the US gov't be, approximately?
OK, some thoughts from another blockade runner. 1st props to Riot Squader UCLA Carlos for sounding a note of caution. Yes, depending on the US Customs official you get coming back, you might get fined, although it could take a long, long time to happen. But before everyone thinks about running the blockade on your own or in small groups, everyone should first get on the horn to Soccer House in Chicago and get our US Soccer Federation to do something for the fans and get 500 visa waivers for our supporters. That means USSF has to call in whatever debts we have with our Congresspeople or the Feds. LEAN ON THEM. Starting NOW. If and only if the USSF FAILS to get a sanctioned supporter group to Cuber (JFK pronunciation) then we can talk blockade running. And I am all for that as plan B. My trip in 1991 through the Bahama ranks as the best vacation I have ever had. But first let's be Dudley Do-Rights and try official channels.
Fwiw... From Goff's "soccer insider" blog at the Washington Post: http://blog.washingtonpost.com/soccerinsider If you guys do want to try and go about this legally, it must start NOW.
It's not illegal to go to Cuba. It's illegal to spend money in Cuba or spend money on Cuban industries/businesses. If you fly a Mexican airline to Cuba, and don't bring anything back, you'll be fine. They won't stamp your passport, unless you piss them off for some reason. I know plenty of people who've went there, regularly...its probably the most beautiful Carri bean Island. http://wikitravel.org/en/Americans_in_Cuba its like the IRS and your 1040...its not that its illegal...but you want to make sure everything is kosher in front of the government also.
Under US law, it IS illegal of the for the Americans to travel to Cuba. There are exceptions for journalists, members of the clergy, and those with special permission. But, the mere acting of buying an airline ticket or boat passage means you have violated the embargo. Having said that there lots of Americans that are able to sneak over to the island without getting caught. Not getting your passport stamped isn't a fool proof technique. The US government pays rewards to airport workers who rat out travelers, and hires spotters at airports in Mexico and the Caribbean to catch Americans going to Cuba. They have also instituted a new program of checking airlines databases, which has made things more difficult.
A polite request as a member of Sam's Army, I would suggest asking permission to use the "Sam's Army" name before you do so in whatever way you are getting to Cuba. The last thing the fledging groups needs is a pain in the ass called the U.S. Treasury.
See, the only thing that I don't like about going through US Treasury is that after I get denied, I'm still going to fly out via another country and my name is already going to be on a stupid watchlist because of my previous legit request. Now, just for the record, "I would never go to Cuba without approval from the US government." thank you.
I had to ask in Toronto. When I flew into Zurich last summer they didn't even swipe it or anything, likewise when I took the train into Germany (Switzerland isn't part of the EU). Only got it stamped when I was leaving Frankfurt. And the U.S. Customs gut was a real jerk when I asked him to stamp it when I came back from a Caribbean Cruise. He opened it to a random page and stamped in the middle of two boxes.
There is a kind-of sort-of embassy: http://havana.usinterestsection.gov/index.html It even has an American Citizen Services division: http://havana.usinterestsection.gov/acs.html Has anyone had any interaction with this "section"? I'm curious to know what they really do.
http://blog.washingtonpost.com/soccerinsider/2007/12/usa_qualifying_sked_taking_sha.html Apparently, if the US and Cuba qualify for the semifinal round, the US will play in Cuba on September 6, 2008. There's now a concrete deadline for getting approval to make the trip.
FWIW, flying from Toronto to Havana for that weekend via Air Canada will cost you $736 Canadian. That doesn't include you to get to and from Toronto. Here is the official travel info sheet from the U.S. State Department. Good luck with the red tape.
Something to keep in mind--this game is still 9 months off. There's a decent chance Castro dies by then, and depending on what happens in the aftermath the travel embargo could be lifted virtually overnight.
Again. I'd recommend going through any place BUT Mexico or Canada b/c the US gov't checks those lists. Dream on. Although if Fidel dies AND the embargo gets lifted for this game... I'd consider going!
Two words - Raul Castro. Fidel could die tomorrow, but his brother will take over. There's no way in hell the embargo is going to be lifted any time soon. Any American fan who thinks he's going to be able go to Cuba legally for the single reason of seeing the game is pretty much delusional. And by that, I'm not including US fans who are in the media. For instance, a reporter like Goff, working for a legitimate newspaper, could POSSIBLY get a travel visa to Cuba for the away leg. But for the average American fan, it is simply not going to happen.