Minister for Sports and Recreation Kofi Adams says the government had no knowledge of alleged payments made by individuals seeking to travel to the United States for the 2026 FIFA World Cup through arrangements involving volunteers and event coordinators.
Speaking in an interview with Kemini Amanor on TV3’s Hot Issues on Sunday, October 11, Mr Adams said his ministry was unaware that some individuals had allegedly paid thousands of dollars to secure places on a list submitted for visa processing.
“The ministry knew nothing about two thousand and three thousand dollars. The ministry knew nothing about any payment whatsoever,” he said.
The controversy concerns allegations that individuals paid money to secure travel opportunities connected to World Cup activation activities involving the National Sports Authority (NSA), the Ghana Tourism Authority (GTA) and an organisation identified as Tribe Culture Fest.
Mr Adams said the ministry became involved in the visa arrangements after the US Embassy’s communication led to a process through which government agencies and affiliated institutions submitted lists of prospective travellers for onward transmission to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
He explained that the NSA submitted a list of 90 volunteers and event coordinators in a letter dated May 19, 2026, requesting ministerial support and visa facilitation for World Cup-related activities in Ghana and the United States.
According to him, the ministry forwarded the list through the established administrative process without being informed that any of the individuals had paid money to be included.
He maintained that the NSA’s letter described the individuals as volunteers and event coordinators but did not provide individualised details of their specific roles.
Mr Adams also denied that the US Embassy had formally informed his ministry that any of the 90 individuals had been misrepresented.
“Till now, neither the American Embassy nor NSA or Foreign Affairs have written to our ministry that the 90 names that were submitted, there are some that have been misrepresented,” he said.
The minister said his ministry became aware of the alleged payments after Ghana’s return from the tournament, when complaints emerged from individuals who claimed they had paid money for visa facilitation but had not obtained the expected outcome.
He said he received a petition from a person who claimed to have submitted 15 individuals and paid approximately US$59,000, adding that the petitioner had already reported the matter to the Criminal Investigations Department (CID).
Mr Adams said investigations were ongoing and stressed that any person found to have deceived applicants would have to face the appropriate criminal consequences.
He further alleged that an individual connected to the arrangements was seeking to avoid refunding about US$611,000 collected from people, although the allegations had not been established through a completed investigation.
The minister insisted that the government’s role was to transmit the lists, while US consular officials retained responsibility for assessing applicants and determining visa eligibility.
