Kofi AdamsMinister for Sports and Recreation, Kofi Adams, has clarified that the government never ruled out sending supporters to the 2026 FIFA World Cup, but maintained that no state-appropriated budget was used for that purpose.Speaking to TV3 after an intense briefing before Parliaments Select Committee on Youth and Sports, Adams defended the governments strategy against growing public and political backlash.He emphasized that the administration strictly adhered to the institutional guidelines outlined in the Justice Dzamefe Commission report, which barred the state from spending direct public funds on ferrying football fans to international tournaments following the financial disaster in Brazil in 2014.”We never said in a way that we were not going to send supporters. We were not going to use budgeted funds as appropriated by Parliament to ferry supporters because that is what the Justice Dzamefe Commission report said.It said if government has to facilitate, government must not use budgeted funds.The Ministers defensive remarks come at a time of severe political pressure, as the parliamentary Minority caucus has fiercely scrutinized a GH58.9 million expenditure on World Cup logistics.While Adams admitted the state spent $1.26 million to purchase 2,922 tournament match tickets, he strongly denied utilizing the main national treasury for accommodation or flights.He explained that these logistical costs were instead covered through corporate partnerships, private sector fundraising, and alternative mobilization mechanisms, thereby protecting taxpayer funds during a period of national economic austerity while supporting the Black Stars.
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