The Minority has accused the Sports Ministry of screening supporters in Ghana for sponsorship to attend the 2026 FIFA World Cup, despite a presidential directive to prioritise Ghanaians residing in the tournament’s host countries.
First Deputy Minority Whip has also alleged that Majority MPs have been allocated two slots each for supporters, and is demanding an urgent briefing from the Sports Minister on preparations for the tournament.
The allegations were raised at a press conference addressed by the Deputy Minority Chief Whip, Habib Iddrisu, on Tuesday, June 9.
“The Minister responsible for Youth and Sports did not brief Parliament on anything. We don’t know the preparation, we don’t know anything, we don’t know where they are training, we don’t know where they are camping, we don’t know their budget.
“At the moment, the Supporters Union were given 90 slots as part of their preparations towards the World Cup. The Majority Caucus made up 189 members were given two slots each that they should bring people for them to be sponsored for the World Cup,” he alleged.
However, Majority Leader criticised the First Deputy Minority Chief Whip for raising such allegations, stating that issuance of visas does not lie in the hands of the Government of Ghana.
“I think that to accuse the Minister of having allocated slots and etc. I think that that is not really appropriate for him to state in this Chamber. The issue of issuance of visas are not matters within the competence of our Government to answer,” he noted.
The Deputy Minority Chief Whip argued that if the government has indeed decided not to sponsor supporters to the tournament, such allocations raise serious concerns about transparency and fairness in the selection process.
“Why is it the case that the president is saying something, but the Ministry of Youth and Sports is doing something else? Why is it the case that they said they are not sponsoring supporters to go to the World Cup, but they are giving NDC MPs two slots each, and they are giving their constituencies three slots through the DCEs?
“It is denting the image of Ghana. If you go to the American embassy today, over a thousand people have applied, but they have issued fewer than a hundred visas to some of them because the right thing has not been done, they are not properly screened, and when they do things like that, it dents the image of Ghana.”
Mr. Iddrisu maintained that the alleged arrangement undermines the government’s stated position and creates the perception that opportunities to travel for the tournament are being distributed along partisan lines.
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