Accra:Minister for Sports and Recreation, Kofi Adams, has firmly rejected demands for his dismissal over allegations of irregularities in visa arrangements for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. He maintains that his ministry was unaware of the processes involved until May of this year.
According to Ghana Web, the controversy emerged following the suspension of Yaw Ampofo Ankrah, Director-General of the National Sports Authority (NSA), which led the Minority in Parliament to call for Adams' removal and prosecution. The allegations include claims that some officials facilitated visa applications for individuals not employed by the Ministry of Sports and Recreation.
During a press conference in Parliament, Vincent Ekow Assafuah, Ranking Member of Parliament's Sports Committee, accused officials of preparing cover letters to present outsiders as ministry staff to secure visas. Additionally, there were calls for the Ghana Tourism Authority's Chief Executive Officer to face similar actions due to alleged involvement in the issue.
Kofi Adams refuted these claims, stating that the NSA, Ghana Tourism Authority (GTA), United States Embassy, and TRIBE Culture Fest conducted the arrangements independently, without informing his ministry. He emphasized that the Ministry of Sports and Recreation was only made aware of the situation through a letter dated 19 May, which requested the forwarding of event coordinators' names to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the US Embassy.
Adams explained that the letter was directed to the ministry's Chief Director, who is part of the technical committee overseeing these arrangements. This committee had decided to submit names of individuals for specific World Cup duties to initiate preparatory processes. Adams clarified that his role was limited to forwarding this communication through the proper administrative channels and denied any knowledge of financial transactions related to the matter.
He assured that no government funds were misappropriated in the process.