Fresh questions have emerged over Ghana’s arrangements for securing visas for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, with the parliamentary Minority alleging irregularities involving the Ghana Tourism Authority (GTA) and National Sports Authority (NSA).
The allegations include claims that some individuals paid as much as US$14,000 for visa processing, while names submitted to foreign embassies allegedly included people whose employment or professional backgrounds could not be verified.
Speaking at a press conference on Wednesday, October 7, 2026, Ranking Member on Parliament’s Youth and Sports Committee, Vincent Ekow Assafuah, said the Minority had uncovered issues it believes require further investigation.
He alleged that some applicants paid between US$7,000 and US$14,000 in connection with the visa arrangements.
Assafuah also mentioned two individuals identified as Chase and Diesel, whom he alleged were involved in collecting payments and facilitating visa processing.
“Our investigation also raises questions concerning allegations that individuals who were not GTA staff were being offered, or processed, under these arrangements, at fees reportedly ranging from $7,000 to $14,000 per person,” he said.
The Minority is also demanding an explanation for why people who were allegedly not employees of the GTA were included in arrangements connected to the Authority’s World Cup-related activities.
“If these allegations are accurate, the CEO of the GTA must explain to taxpayers why individuals outside the Ghana Tourism Authority were allegedly being processed or offered access to visa opportunities associated with allocations intended for the authority’s World Cup-related activities,” Assafuah said.
The Minority further raised questions over a list of 50 names reportedly submitted by the GTA to the US Embassy as media personnel.
According to Assafuah, only two of the 50 names could be verified as professional media practitioners.
“Of the 50 names submitted, only two persons, Philip Narh and Andy Dosty of Multimedia, both associated with Multimedia, were identified as media practitioners,” he said.
He alleged that the remaining 48 individuals could not be verified as media practitioners.
The Minority also wants greater transparency over how visa allocations reportedly secured by the GTA were eventually used.
Assafuah claimed the GTA Chief Executive Officer was allocated 400 US visa slots and an additional 600 by Canada.
“If these allocations are accurate, which I believe they are accurate, the public is entitled to know how many visas were ultimately issued, how many applications were rejected and how the allocated slots were utilized,” he said.
Questions have also been raised about the NSA’s submissions to the Canadian Embassy.
According to the Minority, 102 names were submitted as NSA personnel or affiliates, but only 15 could allegedly be verified as actual employees of the Authority.
This, it claimed, left 87 names whose links to the NSA could not be established.
The Minority further alleged that some of the individuals were assigned job titles that did not exist within the NSA’s organisational structure.
Among the positions it questioned were Operations Coordinator, Business Administrator, World Cup Coordinator and Research and Technology Officer.
Assafuah also said the US Embassy’s Fraud Prevention Unit had raised concerns about four applicants and requested documentation to establish their employment with the NSA.
“So who were the other 87? Why were they on an NSA list? Why were portfolios created for them? Who prepared those portfolios? Who approved them? Who paid for their processing?” he asked.
The latest allegations come amid an ongoing investigation into Ghana’s World Cup visa arrangements.
President John Dramani Mahama has already asked former NSA Director-General Yaw Ampofo Ankrah to step aside, with Professor Emmanuel Osei Sarpong subsequently appointed Acting Director-General.
The NSA has denied involvement in an alleged visa facilitation scheme and said it is cooperating with the police investigation.
The Minority is now calling for a comprehensive examination of the roles played by the institutions and officials involved.
Assafuah said any criminal conduct established through the ongoing investigations should result in prosecution.
The allegations, however, remain subject to investigation, and the claims made by the Minority have not in themselves established wrongdoing by the individuals or institutions named.
