The Minority Caucus in Parliament has demanded a detailed, line-by-line account of how the GH¢58 million allocated by the government for Ghana’s participation in the 2026 World Cup was expended.
It also wants the Ministry of Sports and Recreation, the Ghana Football Association (GFA) and other relevant institutions to account for all funds received from FIFA in connection with the tournament, including preparation and tournament-related payments.
“Publish a complete reconciliation of all corporate and private contributions received for the Black Stars campaign and how the funds were utilised,” it demanded.
Transparency
Addressing a press conference in Parliament, the Ranking Member of the Youth and Sports Committee, Vincent Ekow Assafuah, said the demand for accountability was necessary to ensure transparency in the management of public and private resources committed to Ghana’s World Cup campaign.
Publish the full details of supporter mobilisation, including the number of supporters facilitated, selection criteria and total expenditure.
“Publish a complete reconciliation of the 3,000 reported World Cup tickets purchased, including tickets allocated, used, unused, transferred or resold and investigate the reported ticketing irregularities and allegations of ticket resale,” he demanded.
Audit process
Mr Assafuah, who is also the Member of Parliament for Old Tafo, said although the Minister for Sports and Recreation, who appeared before the Youth and Sports Committee on Thursday (Sept 17), provided explanations on the reported GH¢58 million expenditure, significant questions remained over operational spending.
He said per the minister’s explanation, Black Stars players received $100,000 each as appearance fees, amounting to about $2.6 million, while payments to the technical team and other staff, including honoraria and per diems, brought expenditure to $4,670,339 from the $5 million advanced.
He, however, called on the minister to provide a line-by-line breakdown of expenditure on flights, accommodation, transportation, laundry, training camps, logistics, catering, security and tickets.
“We acknowledge these figures but where is the detailed breakdown of the expenditure on flights, accommodation, internal transportation, laundry, training camps, logistics, catering, security, tickets and other operational expenses?
“For example, the GFA draft budget reportedly allocated $15,000 for laundry and $38,000 for internal transportation, but what was actually spent and who provided these services?” he asked.
What contracts were signed? What were the applicable rates? And what amounts were ultimately paid?
He pointed out that if the government had accounted for the appearance fees, honoraria and per diems, it must demonstrate the same level of transparency for every other expenditure incurred during the campaign.
“We are not questioning the entitlement of the players or technical team to their approved payments, but we are questioning the absence of a comprehensive, line-by-line account of the operational expenses.
“This is because Ghanaians deserve to know how the entire $5 million advance, approximately GH¢58 million, was utilised, down to the last dollar,” he said.
Account for donations
The Ranking Member said just before the World Cup, a number of individuals and corporate organisations reportedly contributed significant amounts to support the Black Stars.
Those, he said, included contributions reported from organisations and individuals such as Ibrahim Mahama of Engineers and Planners ($2 million), Shatta Wale ($100,000), Stone Bwoy ($101,000), Ghana Gas (GH₵5,000,000), GCB Bank PLC (GH₵5,000,000), Ecobank Ghana Limited (GH₵3,000,000) and Goldfields Ghana ($2,000,000), among others.
“The total of the contributions/promises made in dollars is $7,516,000, and that of the cedis is GH₵33,080,000, with the total of corporate contributions in cedis standing at GH₵115,756,000.
“These contributions cannot simply disappear into a general pool without accountability,” he said, and demanded a complete reconciliation of every contribution received, the date and account into which each contribution was paid as well as the institution or person responsible for receiving the funds.
“If private individuals and corporate Ghana supported the national team with millions of cedis and dollars, Ghanaians have a legitimate interest in knowing how those resources were used,” he said.
Supporter mobilisation
Mr Assafuah said before the tournament, Ghanaians were told that the government would not undertake a mass transportation of supporters because there was already a large Ghanaian population in the United States and Canada.
Yet, he said, the government facilitated 431 supporters to travel for the tournament, with the cost of some supporters included air tickets, match tickets, internal transportation, accommodation and stipends.
“The Sports Ministry must publish the criteria used to select these supporters and the total expenditure associated with the exercise,” he said.
NSA Director-General
The MP also said that the Director-General of the National Sports Authority and some staff had reportedly been appearing before the Criminal Investigations Department for questioning over the alleged fraudulent World Cup visa-facilitation arrangement.
He said the Minority Caucus were not prejudging the outcome of the investigation and would not declare anyone guilty before the facts were established.
He, however, said when the head of a state institution was being questioned by the police over allegations connected to activities reportedly carried out within or around that institution, the appropriate thing to do was for him to step aside while the investigation was ongoing.
“We therefore call on the President to dismiss the Director-General of the National Sports Authority with immediate effect, or, at the very least, require him to step aside pending the conclusion of the investigation,” he said.
