Sports Minister Kofi Adams says 26 raffle winners missed out on World Cup travel, and the government is now working on a compensation package.
Ghana's World Cup dream has hit a visa wall for most of the fans who thought they had a golden ticket. Sports and Recreation Minister Kofi Adams has revealed that only five of the 31 winners in a second World Cup travel raffle secured visas to the United States for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Speaking to journalists in Parliament on Thursday, November 5, the Buem MP said the government is preparing a compensation package for the 26 winners who cannot travel. His comments come as scrutiny grows over the fundraising effort meant to help supporters get to the tournament.
Adams explained that the second raffle was organised by Mpuntu. Travel documents were processed for all 31 winners, but the visa approvals did not follow for most of them. He insisted that the money raised in that raffle has not been spent and is still held by the fundraising committee, specifically to compensate those who could not make the trip.
He also addressed an earlier group of seven to 10 winners whose documents were processed after a meeting with the organisers. According to the minister, they were refunded and then asked to send the money back to Rambell so the original travel plans could go ahead. Almost all of them declined and kept their refunds.
For supporters who bought in hoping to follow the Black Stars across the Atlantic, the minister's update brings clarity on where the money sits, but few details yet on what compensation will look like. The details of the package are still to be announced.
