Claim: Government will not fly supporters to World Cup but will procure tickets for fans in the diaspora instead.
Source: Social Media
Verdict: Misleading
Researched by Samuel Nii Adjetey
With just days to the start of the 2026 World Cup, amid the announcing of teams and pre-season preparations, countries heading to the mundial are also expected to fly fans to support their national teams.
In Ghana, discussions have emerged about how the Government intends to extend support to Black Stars supporters who wish to attend the tournament.
The issue gained attention after President John Mahama, during a diaspora town hall meeting in London on Sunday, May 31, 2026, responded to how Ghana intended to ensure that the team gets the needed support from the stands.
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In response to whether Ghana will support fans in Europe to travel to the US to support the team, the President explained that the government is not in a position to fund the travel, accommodation, feeding, and tickets of supporters unions due to the high cost involved.
Mahama disclosed that the estimated cost of sending one fan to the tournament is close to $11,000, making it financially unsustainable under current economic conditions. Instead, he said the government would focus on working with established supporters’ unions and Ghanaian communities in cities such as Boston, Philadelphia, and parts of Canada to mobilise support for the national team.
Following the President’s remarks, an X user (@AhenkanEnoch) claimed in a post dated May 31, 2026; that: “Government will procure tickets for diaspora instead of sponsoring travel from Ghana to the World Cup.”
The social media post suggests that the government has abandoned plans to support fans travelling from Ghana and has chosen instead to purchase match tickets for Ghanaians living abroad to attend Black Stars games.
This fact-check will verify whether President Mahama’s comments support that interpretation and whether the government’s plans exclude sponsoring supporters travelling from Ghana to the 2026 World Cup.
Fact-check
GhanaFact’s analysis of President Mahama’s response showed that his remarks were based on a specific context, which was whether provisions had been made to fly supporters’ unions based outside Ghana, particularly in the UK and other countries, to support the Black Stars at the 2026 World Cup.
In his response President Mahama said: “The cost of transporting, feeding, accommodating, each supporter is, beyond our means. The cost approximation for each person, to be fed, accommodated, transported, and all that to watch the games, tickets and all that is estimated at almost $11,000,” he said.
“So we’re concentrating mainly on the supporters’ unions. They have a tradition of following the team to different places… in Boston, in Philadelphia, in Canada,” he added.
His response did not directly state that the government will not fly fans from Ghana, and therefore does not fully support the claim being circulated.
Sports Minister confirms attendance of fans
In another interview on TV3’s Hot Issues on Sunday, May 31, 2026, Minister for Sports and Recreation, Kofi Adams, explained that the number of Ghanaian supporters who will be sponsored to attend the World Cup would depend on the success of ongoing fundraising efforts.
“The number of people we will take will depend on the success of the fundraising efforts. We may wish to take maybe 400 fans, but if at the end of the day the money we raised can only take 200, it is 200 that we will take,” he said.
Expressing optimism about the fundraising campaign, Adams said: “We hope that the fundraising efforts will yield even something greater, and we will be able to take everybody that we have planned.”
To further verify the claim, GhanaFact spoke with Abraham Nkansah, popularly known as Apuirigu Chakapama, Public Relations Officer of the Ghana Supporters Union. He explained that the government has allocated 90 fully funded slots to members of the officially registered national supporters’ group of the Black Stars.
According to him, the beneficiaries are mainly core members of the group, including drummers, trumpeters, and other individuals who play key roles in supporting the national team during tournaments.
Nkansah stated that government support for selected supporters is not new, noting that successive governments have traditionally sponsored key members of the supporters’ group to major international tournaments, including the World Cup.
He added that although the number of sponsored supporters for the 2026 World Cup has been limited to 90 due to the high costs involved, the union is engaging the Ministry of Sports and Recreation to increase the allocation.
“It is not true that the government is not sponsoring Ghanaian supporters. The government spoke clearly; because the cost is very expensive, only a few registered Ghana supporters will be funded to attend,” he said.
What is the Government’s Plan for Black Stars Supporters?
President Mahama has previously affirmed that the government’s position is not to use public funds to sponsor large numbers of supporters to travel to the 2026 World Cup citing the recommendation of the Justice Senyo Dzamefe Committee.
Speaking at the launch of the Ghana World Cup Fundraising Campaign on March 20, 2026, he stated: “The government has no plans to allocate public funds for supporters to travel to Canada, the United States or Mexico to watch the Black Stars or attend the World Cup.”
However, the government’s position is not that supporters from Ghana will be excluded from attending the tournament. Instead, the President indicated that support for travelling fans would have to come through private sector fundraising efforts rather than direct government funding.
“Any mobilization of supporters to attend the World Cup must be funded by the private sector,” he said.
He further noted that government would work with the leadership of the Ghanaian diaspora in the United States, Canada, and Mexico to mobilize Ghanaians living in those countries to support the Black Stars during the tournament.
Based on the above, the claim that the government will only procure tickets for Ghanaians in the diaspora instead of sponsoring travel from Ghana to the World Cup is inaccurate.
Sports Minister Kofi Adams has confirmed plans to fund some fans travelling from Ghana, a position corroborated by Abraham Nkansah, who confirmed that 90 registered supporters have been allocated government-sponsored slots for the tournament.
Verdict:
Therefore, the claim is rated misleading.
