2026 World Cup: No MP was sponsored by government - Sports Minister Kofi Adams

The Minister for Sports and Recreation, Kofi Iddie Adams, has rejected allegations that government officials and political appointees were given sponsored trips or preferential treatment to attend the 2026 FIFA World Cup, insisting that ticket allocation was handled transparently and without political influence.

His clarification follows public debate over the government’s free World Cup ticket support programme, which has now officially ended.

According to the ministry, the initiative was limited strictly to the group stage of the tournament and will not extend into the knockout rounds.

Speaking in an interview, Adams—who is also the Member of Parliament for Buem—said no ministers, MPs or chief executive officers benefited from government-funded travel packages to the tournament.

“No Member of Parliament, Minister of State or CEOs were sponsored by government to the World Cup. We did not give any slots to any constituencies,” Adams told Sporty FM.

He also addressed concerns raised by Ghanaian fans in the diaspora, some of whom expected wider access to free match tickets during the tournament. Adams expressed regret over what he described as a misunderstanding of the policy’s scope.

“I want to apologise to Ghanaian fans in the diaspora if they didn’t understand us well. They thought everybody who would walk to the stadium would get a ticket from us. We never said so,” he explained.

The minister maintained that the distribution process remained open and fair, with no allocation based on political considerations or constituency representation.

Meanwhile, the Ghana Football Association (GFA) has announced two official supporter ticket categories for Ghana’s Round of 32 clash against Colombia in Kansas City.

The Premier Supporter Tier is priced at $1,265, while the Standard Supporter Tier is set at $1,100.

The Black Stars are scheduled to face Colombia at Kansas City Stadium on Saturday, July 4, with kickoff at 1:30 GMT, as attention turns to their knockout-stage campaign and ongoing discussions about fan access and travel arrangements.