Minority demands full account of GH¢58m World Cup expenditure

The Minority in Parliament has turned the spotlight on Ghana’s 2026 World Cup spending, demanding a detailed, line-by-line account of how the GH¢58 million advance released for the Black Stars’ campaign was utilised.

The demand follows a briefing by the Minister for Sports and Recreation, Kofi Adams, before Parliament’s Youth and Sports Committee on Thursday, September 17, 2026, on expenditure related to Ghana’s participation in the tournament.

The Minority says while some major payments have been explained, significant questions remain over operational expenses, including flights, accommodation, transportation, logistics, catering, security and tickets.

‘Where is the detailed breakdown?’

Ranking Member of Parliament’s Youth and Sports Committee, Vincent Ekow Assafuah, is leading the call for greater disclosure.

He wants the Ministry of Sports and Recreation, the Ghana Football Association (GFA) and other relevant institutions to publish a comprehensive breakdown showing exactly how the money was spent.

“Where is the detailed breakdown of the expenditure on flights, accommodation, internal transportation, laundry, training camps, logistics, catering, security, tickets and other operational expenses?” he asked.

According to the Minority, accounting for players’ appearance fees and officials’ allowances alone does not provide a complete picture of the entire World Cup expenditure.

$5m advance under scrutiny

The government released GH¢58.929 million, equivalent to US$5 million, as an advance to support preparations and Ghana’s participation in the group stages of the World Cup.

Assafuah said the Sports Minister had explained that Black Stars players received US$100,000 each as appearance fees, amounting to approximately US$2.6 million.

Payments to the technical team and other officials, including honoraria and per diems, reportedly brought expenditure to US$4,670,339 from the US$5 million advance.

But the Minority wants the remaining operational expenditure broken down in detail.

Laundry, transport and other costs questioned

The Minority has raised specific questions about figures contained in a reported GFA draft budget.

For instance, the draft reportedly allocated US$15,000 for laundry and US$38,000 for internal transportation.

Assafuah wants authorities to disclose what was actually spent, who provided the services, what contracts were signed, the applicable rates and the final amounts paid.

He stressed that the demand was not about questioning approved payments to players and technical staff.

Rather, the Minority wants the same level of transparency applied to every other expense incurred during the campaign.

3,000 World Cup tickets also under scrutiny

The Minority is also demanding a complete reconciliation of the World Cup tickets purchased for Ghana.

Assafuah called for details showing the number of tickets allocated, used, unused, transferred or resold, alongside an investigation into reported ticketing irregularities and allegations of resale.

The GFA reportedly purchased 2,922 tickets at a cost of about US$1.26 million, covering Ghana’s group-stage matches against Panama, England and Croatia.

According to reported details, 948 tickets were purchased for the Panama match, 1,000 for England and 974 for Croatia. The prices included a 10 per cent FIFA-approved administrative charge.

Minority demands account of millions in donations

The financial questions do not end with the government’s GH¢58 million advance.

The Minority is also demanding a complete reconciliation of financial contributions reportedly made by individuals and corporate organisations to support the Black Stars.

Among the contributions cited by Assafuah were US$2 million from Ibrahim Mahama of Engineers and Planners, US$100,000 from Shatta Wale, US$101,000 from Stonebwoy, GH¢5 million from Ghana Gas, GH¢5 million from GCB Bank, GH¢3 million from Ecobank Ghana and US$2 million from Gold Fields Ghana, among others.

Assafuah said the reported contributions and pledges amounted to US$7.516 million and GH¢33.08 million, with the reported corporate contributions in cedis amounting to GH¢115.756 million.

He is demanding details of when the funds were received, the accounts into which they were paid, who received them, how they were spent and whether any balances remain.

431 supporters and the cost of mobilisation

The Minority has also questioned the government’s facilitation of supporters travelling to the tournament.

Assafuah said the government had earlier indicated that it would not undertake mass transportation of supporters because a significant Ghanaian population was already living in the United States and Canada.

However, he said 431 supporters were eventually facilitated to travel, with expenses reportedly including some air tickets, match tickets, internal transportation, accommodation and stipends.

The Minority wants the Sports Ministry to publish the criteria used to select the supporters and the total amount spent on the exercise.

Minority calls for ‘accountability down to the last dollar’

The Minority’s central demand is for a comprehensive financial reconciliation rather than broad figures.

Assafuah said if government has been able to account for player appearance fees, honoraria and per diems, similar transparency should apply to every other expenditure.

The Minority also wants the Ministry of Sports and Recreation, the GFA and relevant institutions to account for funds received from FIFA in connection with the tournament, including money received for preparations and tournament-related activities.

The demand places Ghana’s World Cup finances under renewed public scrutiny, with the Minority insisting that every major payment should be traceable and properly documented.

For now, the political pressure is centred on one key question: how exactly was the GH¢58 million advance spent, and can every dollar and cedi be accounted for?