Ghanaian minister rejects claims of visa violations — MyJoyOnline
Ghana’s Minister for Sports and Recreation, Kofi Adams, has rejected claims that members of a state-funded delegation to the 2026 FIFA World Cup remained in the United States and Canada after the tournament, MyJoyOnline reports.
Statement by the parliamentary minority
On September 17, 2026, the parliamentary minority said that the sports minister’s driver and a secretary in the office of the ministry’s chief director were allegedly among 431 people whose trips to the tournament were paid for by the state and who had still not returned to Ghana.
Minority representatives questioned the government’s statement that all 431 trip participants had returned, citing these two officials as people who allegedly overstayed their visas.
The minister’s position
Speaking before Ghana’s Parliament Youth and Sports Committee, Adams said that U.S. and Canadian authorities had not officially notified the Ghanaian government about any delegate who had overstayed.
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The minister suggested that the information being circulated could be disinformation. According to him, the issue of possible overstays was not raised during his meeting with representatives of the U.S. Embassy in Ghana, including the new consular officer and the head of the political section.
Adams also said that neither the U.S. nor Canadian side had sent letters to Ghana’s foreign minister notifying him of such cases. He questioned the source of the data cited by the parliamentary minority.
According to the minister, U.S. Embassy representatives positively assessed cooperation with Ghana and discussed preparations for the 2028 Olympic Games. The U.S. side, he said, advised starting preparations early in order to process more travel applications.
