‘Baseless, Noisy’: Sports Ministry rejects Minority’s visa scandal allegations against Kofi Adams

The Ministry of Sports and Recreation has dismissed as “baseless and noisy” allegations by the Minority in Parliament linking Sports Minister Kofi Adams to a 2026 FIFA World Cup visa scandal.

The accusations, led by Old Tafo MP Vincent Ekow Assafuah, Ranking Member of Parliament’s Youth and Sports Committee, claim that Minister Adams personally transmitted an expanded list of about 92 names to the US Embassy after its Fraud Prevention Unit had flagged discrepancies. The Minority is demanding the immediate dismissal and prosecution of both the Sports Minister and the Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Tourism Authority over what it describes as an alleged visa fraud scheme.

According to the Minority, prospective travellers were charged between $7,000 and $14,000, far above the official fees of $3,000 per person for US visa-related costs and $2,000 per person for Canadian visa costs. The total amount allegedly collected from the travellers is said to exceed $600,000.

Assafuah further alleged that officials wrote cover letters to disguise outsiders as ministry staff in order to process their US visas. The Minority also claims that four job titles listed in National Sports Authority visa documents do not exist within the agency’s structure. It says the US Embassy’s Fraud Prevention Unit raised red flags over the discrepancies on 18 March 2026, and that a list of 102 people was submitted by the NSA to the Canadian Embassy on 8 June 2026.

Reacting to the claims, Wonder Mandel, Special Assistant to Minister Kofi Adams, strongly rejected the allegations. He accused Assafuah of attempting to intentionally tarnish the minister’s image, noting that the Minority’s 49-page statement produced no incriminating evidence linking either the minister or the ministry to illegal visa facilitation. Mandel described the accusations as “baseless and cacophonous noise.”

The controversy has intensified with the suspension of Yaw Ampofo Ankrah, Director-General of the National Sports Authority, following the alleged visa facilitation arrangement. Ankrah is currently under investigation by the Bureau of National Investigations and has deferred his appearance before Parliament while the Criminal Investigations Department continues its probe.

Ernest Norgbey, Chairman of Parliament’s Youth and Sports Committee, has called on politicians to allow the CID to independently investigate the allegations, warning against political interference in the ongoing probe.

The Minority has also demanded a wider investigation into Ghana’s 2026 FIFA World Cup visa arrangements, seeking greater scrutiny of the Sports Ministry’s role in the process. The standoff between the Minority and the Sports Ministry is expected to continue as investigations proceed, with the opposition maintaining its call for the minister’s dismissal and prosecution, while the Ministry insists the allegations are politically motivated and without merit.