The way the Ghana Tourism Authority (GTA) handled media accreditation and visa issues for the 2026 World Cup has drawn more criticism. Only two of the fifty names the Authority sent to the US Embassy, according to the Minority in Parliament, could be confirmed as professional media practitioners.
Vincent Assafuah, a ranking member of the Parliamentary Select Committee on Sports, brought up the accusations. He said that due diligence was done on the list that the GTA submitted by the Fraud Prevention Unit of the US Embassy. He claims that the only people recognized as media practitioners were Multimedia’s Andy Dosty and Philip Narh.
That, he suggested, raises serious questions about the professional credentials of the remaining 48 people on the list.
Questions over visa slots
The claims have turned attention to GTA Chief Executive Officer Maame Efua Houadjeto, particularly over the visa allocations reportedly secured for the Authority in connection with the tournament. Assafuah alleged that she was allocated 400 visa slots by the US Embassy and a further 600 by the Canadian Embassy.
He called for greater transparency over how those allocations were used. In particular, he wants to know how many applications were successful and how many were rejected. The Minority argues that the public deserves a full account of how opportunities linked to the World Cup were distributed, given the level of interest in Ghana’s participation in the tournament.
Alleged payments
The Minority also alleges that some individuals on the list paid between $8,000 and $9,000 to the GTA CEO in connection with World Cup arrangements. However, Assafuah did not provide details or evidence to support the claim, and it is not clear who made the alleged payments or what they were meant to cover.
Allegations yet to be established
It is important to note that, for now, these remain allegations made by the Minority. They have not been independently established, and neither the GTA nor Houadjeto had responded to the claims at the time of reporting.
If the allegations are proven, they could raise serious questions about how World Cup-related arrangements were managed and what criteria were used to select people presented as media personnel. The claim that only two of 50 names could be verified, if accurate, would suggest that the list may not have reflected the professional media community it was meant to represent.
Pressure to respond
The GTA and its chief executive are expected to respond to the concerns and clarify several points. These include how names were selected for the list submitted to the US Embassy, how the reported visa slots were allocated, and whether any payments were made or received in connection with the process.
The controversy adds pressure on the GTA leadership to account publicly for how World Cup-related opportunities and visa slots were handled. Until the Authority responds and the claims are examined further, questions remain over the credentials of those on the list and the transparency of the visa process. The Minority has made clear that it expects answers.