The Parliamentary Select Committee on Sports has formally requested that Sports Minister Kofi Adams provide a copy of the budget for Ghana’s upcoming 2026 World Cup qualifying matches.
The Black Stars are scheduled to face Chad and Mali in Matchdays 7 and 8 of the qualifiers next month.
The committee’s request follows President John Mahama’s commitment, made in his first State of the Nation Address earlier this year, to ensure transparency in government spending on the national team.
“Next month, the senior national team, the Black Stars, which is now a pale shadow of its former glory, will play two World Cup qualifying matches,” he said.
“I have instructed my office and the Minister for Sports and Recreation to hold the Ghana Football Association accountable to the people of Ghana as we prepare for these games — especially regarding the budget of the GFA.
“There will be no secrecy in how much the government spends on the national teams. The budgets presented by the FA and other sports associations must be made known to the public. After all, it is the taxpayers’ funds that are used to fund these activities. The reduction in government expenditure and waste applies to all sectors of the economy, including the Ministry of Sports and Recreation,” he added.
However, the budget for Matchdays 5 and 6 in March, when Ghana played Chad and Madagascar, was not publicly disclosed despite repeated media requests.
At the time, Minister Adams assured that future budgets would be released promptly.
“For those of you who think that we have received all the money and paid for everything regarding Ghana versus Chad and Ghana versus Madagascar, no, we haven’t been able to do that yet,” he explained. “We are still working on it.
“By our next game, which is in September, we’ll have ample time to even publish the budget ahead of expenditure.
“We couldn’t do so for the previous match because of time constraints, but time will not be an issue now. We’ll be able to call you here, make it available to you, so that you can ask relevant questions for explanation.”
With the Black Stars regrouping early next month, the Parliamentary Select Committee has urged the Sports Ministry to release both the March expenditures and the budget for the upcoming qualifiers.
Ghana will travel to face Chad at the Stade Olympique Maréchal Idriss Déby Itno on September 4, before hosting Mali at the Accra Sports Stadium on September 8.
The four-time African champions currently top Group I with 15 points, aiming to maintain their strong position in the qualifiers.
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