Millions of supporters are expected to travel to the US, Mexico and Canada for the World Cup, but for travellers coming from some parts of Africa, the journey has suddenly become far more complicated.
The developments come amid an unexpected public health crisis that has forced authorities to act quickly.
On May 17, the World Health Organisation declared an Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo a Public Health Emergency of International Concern — the most serious alert it can issue.
With the possibility of the virus spreading to neighbouring countries assessed as high, governments worldwide have been working to put safeguards in place.
Now, with the World Cup on the horizon, the three host countries have coordinated their approach to prevent the tournament from becoming a major transmission event.
The United States, Mexico and Canada released a joint statement saying they had aligned their public health travel measures for people arriving from the African regions considered most at risk from Ebola.
“The health and safety of every person in the region remains our highest priority as we welcome the world to North America,” the statement read, though it did not specify the precise steps that would be taken.
The first major move came from Washington. Last week, the US barred non-citizens who had recently been in the DRC, Uganda or South Sudan from entering the country.
After that announcement, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention expanded the restrictions to include green card holders who had visited any of the three countries within the previous 21 days.
Canada has taken even tougher action in some areas, introducing a 90-day entry ban for residents of the DRC, Uganda and South Sudan, which came into effect on Wednesday.
At the same time, Canadian citizens, permanent residents and certain other foreign nationals who have been in affected areas but are not showing symptoms must quarantine for 21 days from May 30.
Mexico has opted for a somewhat different approach.
Health Secretary David Kershenovich said on Monday that airport screening for Ebola would be strengthened, advised people to avoid travel to the DRC, and called on anyone arriving from the country to follow a 21-day quarantine period.
With huge numbers of fans expected to move between countries in the weeks ahead, all three governments are signalling that they intend to minimise risk wherever possible.