Twenty-five Ghanaians who travelled to Canada in connection with the 2026 FIFA World Cup have applied for asylum, according to figures released by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC).The applications are part of 175 asylum claims submitted by foreign nationals who entered Canada after receiving temporary residence approval linked to the tournament, which was jointly hosted by Canada, the United States and Mexico.IRCC said it approved temporary residence applications for 26,111 people who indicated they were travelling for the World Cup. As of July 20, 2026, 175 of those individuals had subsequently sought asylum.”Of the 26,111 individuals with prior FIFA-related approved temporary residence applications, 175 people later submitted asylum claims,” the department said, according to Canadian newspaper The Globe and Mail.Ghana and China recorded the highest number of asylum applications, with 25 each. Egypt and Colombia followed with 15 claims apiece, while Senegal, Bangladesh and Nigeria each registered 10.Canadian authorities did not disclose whether the applicants were footballers, officials, support staff or fans who attended the tournament.The development mirrors a similar incident after the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil, when about 200 Ghanaians sought asylum, citing religious persecution. Ghanaian authorities rejected those claims at the time, describing them as unfounded.
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