The Minority Caucus in Parliament has accused the government of covertly sponsoring supporters to attend the 2026 FIFA World Cup, despite assurances from President John Dramani Mahama that the state would not finance fans’ travel to the global football tournament.
According to the Minority, actions being taken by government officials and members of the governing National Democratic Congress (NDC) appear to contradict the President’s publicly stated position on the matter.
The allegations were raised at a press conference addressed by the Deputy Minority Chief Whip, Habib Iddrisu, on Tuesday, June 9.
Mr. Iddrisu claimed that Members of Parliament on the ticket of the NDC have each been allocated two slots for prospective World Cup travellers.
He further alleged that District Chief Executives (DCEs) across the country have been instructed to distribute three slots per constituency.
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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