Minister for Sports and Recreation Kofi Adams says the National Sports Authority (NSA) did not inform him about any visa arrangements it had reached with the United States Embassy ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
His comments come amid growing controversy over visa arrangements involving the NSA, the Ghana Tourism Authority (GTA) and private entity TRIBE Culture Fest, which has triggered calls for investigations into the roles of the institutions and their officials.
Speaking on TV3 on Sunday, October 11, Mr Adams said the ministry was unaware of any agreement between the NSA and the embassy relating to visa acquisition.
“The embassy did not communicate to us, where they have reached, the NSA did not communicate to us where they have reached, the NSA did not communicate to us if they had any arrangement with the embassy, so all up till this point we knew that we are still having the engagement and setting the rules and boundaries of operations,” he said.
The minister explained that the NSA and GTA were government agencies whose employees travelling on official government business would require a different visa category from those travelling with the Ghana Football Association (GFA).
“NSA and GTA are governmental agencies, this is important because travellers who work for the GFA will need to apply for visitor B1,B2 visa’s, where emplyee’s of the NSA and GTA who are travelling on official government business will need to apply for diplomatic visas,” he said.
Mr Adams acknowledged that the NSA had engaged the US Embassy but insisted those discussions were not related to the issuance of visas.
“Yes the NSA were having their own engagement with the embassy but not in relation to the issuant of visas, those engement were outside of the visa acquisition,” he added.
The controversy has raised questions about the submission of names to foreign diplomatic missions and the roles played by state agencies and private organisations in facilitating travel for activities linked to the 2026 World Cup.
The Minority in Parliament has called for a broader investigation into the matter, arguing that accountability should extend beyond the former NSA Director-General Yaw Ampofo Ankrah, who was suspended and later dismissed amid the controversy.
The minister’s comments come as the Criminal Investigations Department of the Ghana Police Service investigates the allegations. The outcome of the probe is expected to establish the circumstances surrounding the visa arrangements and determine whether any wrongdoing occurred.