Minister for Sports and Recreation Kofi Adams has rejected claims that officials from his ministry who travelled to the United States for the 2026 FIFA World Cup have absconded.
The Minority in Parliament has alleged that the Minister’s driver and a secretary from the office of the Ministry’s Chief Director have failed to return to Ghana after travelling to the United States as part of the government-sponsored delegation.
The Minority, led on the issue by Ranking Member of Parliament’s Youth and Sports Committee Vincent Ekow Assafuah, has questioned the government’s claim that all 431 state-sponsored World Cup travellers returned to Ghana. The caucus has called for the publication of the names and passport details of the sponsored travellers to allow their return status to be verified.
However, Adams has dismissed the claims, saying he has no information confirming that any member of his ministry’s delegation has overstayed their visa or failed to return.
“I don’t have that information. This information may be one of the fake news,” Adams said.
The Minister said he had engaged senior officials from the US Embassy in Ghana, including the chargé d’affaires, the new consul officer and the political head, but the issue was not raised during those discussions.
“This matter of anybody overstaying his or her visa was never raised with us,” he said.
Adams added that the US Embassy had not formally communicated to him or the Ministry of Foreign Affairs that any Ghanaian connected to the delegation had overstayed their visa.
“If you are hearing, then we are waiting for them,” he said.
The Minister also questioned the basis of the Minority’s claims, pointing to his recent engagement with US diplomatic officials.
“I don’t know the time you became the American Ambassador in Ghana for you to know much about Ghanaians who have travelled there and have not returned,” Adams said.
He maintained that the discussions with US officials had instead focused on future cooperation, including preparations linked to the Olympic Games.
“They actually have commended Ghana and they have asked that towards the Olympic Games, we should start much earlier so that they will be able to process more persons,” he added.
The Minority’s claims remain disputed, with the caucus calling for documentary evidence on the whereabouts of all 431 government-sponsored travellers. No independent evidence establishing wrongdoing or visa violations by the two officials has been presented in the reports cited.
