GTA CEO Maame Efua Houadjeto faces visa fraud allegations over 2026 World Cup media list

The Ghana Tourism Authority (GTA) is facing fresh scrutiny over its handling of media accreditation and visa arrangements for the 2026 World Cup, following claims that only two of 50 names submitted to the United States Embassy could be verified as professional media practitioners.

The allegations were raised by the Minority in Parliament, with Ranking Member of the Parliamentary Select Committee on Sports, Vincent Assafuah, saying the US Embassy’s Fraud Prevention Unit conducted due diligence on the list submitted by the GTA.

According to Assafuah, only Philip Narh and Andy Dosty of Multimedia were identified as media practitioners, raising questions about the professional credentials of the remaining 48 individuals.

The development has placed renewed attention on GTA Chief Executive Officer Maame Efua Houadjeto, particularly over questions surrounding the visa allocations reportedly secured for the Authority in connection with the World Cup.

Assafuah claimed that the GTA CEO was allocated 400 visa slots by the US Embassy and a further 600 by the Canadian Embassy. He has called for greater transparency over how those allocations were used, including the number of applications that were successful or rejected.

The Minority is also alleging that some individuals on the list paid between $8,000 and $9,000 to the GTA CEO in connection with World Cup arrangements. However, Assafuah did not provide details or evidence substantiating the alleged payments.

The claims, if established, could raise serious questions about the management of the World Cup-related arrangements and the criteria used to select individuals presented as media personnel.

For now, the comments remain allegations made by the Minority and have not been independently established. The GTA and Maame Efua Houadjeto are expected to respond to the concerns and provide clarity on the selection process, visa allocations and alleged payments.

The controversy adds pressure on the GTA leadership to account publicly for how World Cup-related opportunities and visa slots were managed, particularly given the public interest surrounding Ghana's participation in the 2026 tournament.