Ranking Member of Parliament for the Youth and Sports Committee, Vincent Ekow Assafuah, has questioned payments allegedly made to officials who accompanied Ghana’s Black Stars to the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
His comments came after Sports and Recreation Minister Kofi Adams appeared before Parliament’s Select Committee on Sports to account for expenditure related to Ghana’s World Cup campaign.
In an exclusive interview with Asempa FM, the Old Tafo MP said the minister had sought to compare the payments with previous arrangements but argued that some of the amounts allegedly paid to officials required further explanation.
Assafuah pointed to reported payments of $10,000 or more to individuals described as purse holders, chefs, caterers and security officers.
He questioned why someone responsible for holding money for players and officials would allegedly receive $10,000.
“You take people to the United States and Canada as part of the officials of the Black Stars. Then you pay that person $10,000,” Assafuah said.
He also challenged the reported payments made to other support staff, questioning whether the amounts reflected the length of time they spent with the team.
“You pay a chef 1.2 billion old cedis. You pay a caterer 1.2 billion old cedis. You pay a security officer 120,000. For how many days?” he asked.
Assafuah’s remarks form part of wider concerns raised over spending and accountability relating to officials who travelled with the Black Stars during the tournament.
Ghana played four matches at the 2026 World Cup before their campaign ended with a 1-0 defeat by Colombia in the Round of 32 in Kansas City.
