The Minister for Sports and Recreation, Kofi Adams, has accused Tribe Culture Fest Chief Executive Officer Nana Boateng Gyimah of allegedly supplying misleading information to the Member of Parliament for Old Tafo, Vincent Ekow Assafuah, over the controversy surrounding Ghana’s 2026 FIFA World Cup visa arrangements.
Mr Adams alleged that Gyimah was behind claims of visa fraud involving him and other government officials, arguing that the allegations were intended to divert public attention from an alleged $611,000 financial irregularity involving an agreement with the National Sports Authority (NSA).
According to the minister, the money was collected in connection with arrangements to transport Ghanaians to the 2026 FIFA World Cup and was expected to be refunded.
“He cannot run away with $611,000 of people’s money. We must make sure that we get him, and if it is found that right from the word go, he deceived the people, we must take the appropriate criminal actions,” Mr Adams stated.
He made the allegations in an interview with TV3 on October 11, 2026, while addressing concerns over a list of 90 people submitted for visa processing ahead of Ghana’s participation in the tournament.
Four individuals were not NSA employees
Mr Adams also explained the circumstances surrounding an earlier request from the United States Embassy to verify four individuals presented as National Sports Authority employees.
He said the embassy’s request related to a submission made directly by the NSA on March 18, 2026, before the ministry’s formal arrangement with the authority commenced.
The minister said he contacted the NSA Director-General to establish whether the four individuals were genuine employees, requesting details including their staff identification numbers, salaries, employment dates and duty stations.
According to him, the Director-General confirmed that the four individuals were not NSA employees, prompting him to respond to the embassy’s verification request.
“I signed and indicated that they are not known to the ministry and NSA,” he said, clarifying that his response was a verification note rather than a formal letter.
He stressed that the four individuals were associated with an earlier submission and were not part of the 90-person list currently under scrutiny.
No formal complaint over the 90 names
The minister rejected claims that individuals on the 90-person list had been falsely presented to the US Embassy as NSA staff or board members.
He explained that the list forwarded to his ministry described the individuals as event coordinators and facilitation personnel.
Mr Adams maintained that neither the US Embassy, the NSA nor the Ministry of Foreign Affairs had formally informed his ministry of any misrepresentation involving the names.
“Till now, we don’t have any such information that anybody was misrepresented on that list, the 90 list. No such information exists anywhere,” he said.
He argued that details from separate submissions were being conflated in public discussions, insisting that the earlier four-name verification request should not be confused with the list of 90.
1,023 visa applications processed
Providing further details on the visa arrangements, Mr Adams disclosed that approximately 1,023 applications were processed across the relevant categories, including categories A and B1/B2, but only 441 applicants were issued visas.
He said the ministry’s responsibility was to facilitate the submission of names, while applicants were expected to complete their application forms and attend their visa appointments.
The minister added that some ministry officials with verifiable employment records, including salaries and payslips, were also denied visas, arguing that a visa refusal did not automatically indicate that an applicant had been misrepresented.
He maintained that the ministry had no authority to determine who ultimately received a visa.
The controversy has raised questions about the identities and descriptions of individuals included in the disputed list, as well as the alleged $611,000 financial transaction involving the World Cup travel arrangements.
However, the minister’s allegations against the Tribe Culture Fest CEO and the precise relationship between the disputed financial dealings and the visa controversy remain to be independently established.
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