Ghana’s Sports and Recreation Minister Kofi Adams says the $9 million the Black Stars will receive for appearing at the group stage of the 2026 FIFA World Cup will be paid into the newly created Sports Fund.
Each nation that qualifies for the expanded 48-team tournament will earn a minimum of $10.5 million, made up of $9 million in prize money for group-stage participation and an additional $1.5 million to cover preparation costs. Prize money increases as teams progress further in the competition.
Speaking exclusively to Citi Sports, Adams said the expected World Cup revenue was a key reason behind the establishment of the Sports Fund.
“If you observe the justification for the agency of the bill we took to Parliament, one of the things we indicated was the period, and that we wanted to take advantage of the period we found ourselves in. What is the period? Preparation for the FIFA World Cup. We want to insist that the bill, as it is now when signed by the President, becomes an act.
He explained that proceeds from international competitions would serve as one of the fund’s main revenue sources.
“One of the sources is proceeds from competitions and tournaments. For example, what FIFA is going to give us as a country is $9 million. The $1.5 million is for preparation, so that will go into preparation.
But the $9 million would go into the fund, for example. Unless we incur some other cost that we just have to deduct from it. If we don’t, we are going to put everything into the fund.”
According to the minister, channeling the funds into a structured system will allow Ghana to make lasting investments in sports development.
Once it goes into the fund, there will be structured utilisation. So we can, for the first time, have infrastructure or edifices that we can point to, that out of the World Cup, this is what we are able to do.
Adams added that the government intends to ensure Ghana’s participation in the 2026 tournament leaves a visible legacy.
So we intend to have projects that we can show that in our participation in the US of A, Canada and Mexico World Cup 2026, this is what we are able to do.
He also highlighted the financial incentives tied to progress at the tournament and expressed optimism about the Black Stars’ prospects.
And I believe that we are in good shape to go very far. You know, if you qualify to the next round of the 32 teams, you get additional $3 million. And if you move again further to the 32, you get another additional $4 million.
So the further you go, the better it will be for you. So we just have to perform and I believe that we can be among the top four.
