Following concerns raised by some Ghanaians over difficulties in obtaining tickets for Black Stars matches at the 2026 FIFA World Cup, the Minister of Sports and Recreation, Kofi Adams, has been explaining how the tickets were distributed.
Rejecting claims that tickets distributed by the ministry had been diverted or sold for personal gain in the United States, Mr Kofi Adams explained that limited allocation was shared among corporate sponsors, recognised supporter groups, public raffle winners and others were distributed to Ghanaians in the diaspora.
Speaking in a radio interview on Accra-based 3FM on Tuesday (July 14, 2026), Mr Adams said the Ministry allocated tickets to corporate sponsors based on the level of financial support they provided for Ghana's World Cup campaign.
He said Engineers and Planners for example, which he said was the biggest sponsor, received between 40 and 70 tickets for each Black Stars match after contributing US$2 million.
Mr Adams said companies that contributed smaller amounts, from GH¢1 million to several million cedis, received fewer tickets than the main sponsor.
He said tickets were also allocated to recognised supporter unions, winners of a public raffle and Ghanaians living in the United States and Canada through Ghana's diplomatic missions.
"Those tickets are issued through an email. So the records are there," he said, adding that the ministry could verify whether a named individual had received or paid for a ticket.
Mr Adams said reports of Ghanaians reselling tickets in the United States involved people who obtained their tickets through legitimate channels before resale prices increased, and not beneficiaries of government allocations.
He added that ticket resale was permitted under FIFA regulations and the laws of the United States during the tournament.
Giving a breakdown of ticket allocation for the group stage, Mr Adams said a total of 2,922 tickets were procured by the ministry.
The allocation comprised 948 tickets for the Panama match, 1,000 for the England fixture and 974 for the Croatia game.
He said the ministry had already announced that the names of individual and institutional beneficiaries would be published at a later date.
According to Mr Adams, most of the tickets distributed in the United States were channelled through Ghana's diplomatic missions because there was no recognised Black Stars supporters' union operating there.
