The Minority Caucus in Parliament has accused the government of secretly making arrangements to send some supporters to the 2026 FIFA World Cup, despite President John Dramani Mahama’s assurance that the government would not pay for fans to travel to the tournament.
According to the Minority, actions by government officials and members of the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) do not match the President’s public position on the issue.
The claims were made by Deputy Minority Chief Whip Habib Iddrisu during a press conference on Tuesday, June 9.
Mr. Iddrisu alleged that each NDC Member of Parliament has been given two slots to nominate people who could travel to the World Cup.
He also claimed that District Chief Executives (DCEs) have been directed to distribute three slots in every constituency.
He said that if the government is truly not sponsoring supporters to attend the tournament, then these alleged allocations raise serious questions about transparency and fairness.
“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 argued that the alleged arrangement goes against the government’s stated position and creates the impression that opportunities to travel to the World Cup are being given based on political affiliation rather than a fair selection process.
