Majority Caucus Rejects Allegations That MPs Received World Cup Travel Slots
Ghana’s Majority Caucus in Parliament has flatly denied allegations from the opposition that its members were allocated special travel privileges to attend the 2026 FIFA World Cup in the United States and Canada, dismissing the claims as misleading and warning they risk inflaming tensions in the House at a time when national attention should be focused on supporting the Black Stars.
The controversy erupted after the New Patriotic Party Minority side alleged that each Majority Member of Parliament had been given two travel slots for the tournament, with an additional three slots allocated to their constituencies. The Minority characterised the arrangement as a preferential distribution of World Cup opportunities that excluded opposition lawmakers.
Rockson-Nelson Dafeamekpor, the Majority Chief Whip, took to the Floor of Parliament on Wednesday to issue a forceful rebuttal. “Nobody was given two slots. The government announced that they were not sponsoring anybody apart from the established national supporters’ union to the World Cup,” he said.
“MPs have not been given slots and so when you sit here and say those things, you are aggravating disorder in the House,” Mr Dafeamekpor continued, visibly frustrated. “How do you stand on the Floor of Parliament and be insinuating that slots were given but we kept them for ourselves?”
The denial comes amid a charged political atmosphere in Ghana surrounding the national team’s participation in the expanded 48-team World Cup. Sports and Recreation Minister Kofi Adams had earlier issued a passionate call for national unity as the Black Stars prepared to open their campaign against Panama in Toronto, urging Ghanaians to rally behind the team rather than engage in partisan disputes.
The Majority Caucus stressed that the government had not financed or allocated travel slots to individual MPs, and called on members on both sides of the House to refrain from statements that could inflame tensions as the tournament progresses. Parliament had only hours earlier set aside partisan divisions for a spirited jama session in which MPs from both caucuses sang and chanted together in support of the Black Stars—a moment of bipartisan unity that the World Cup slots allegation threatens to overshadow.
The episode highlights the delicate balance between political accountability and national solidarity that major sporting events impose on democracies. With the Black Stars’ World Cup campaign now underway, both sides of the House face pressure to keep the focus on the pitch rather than on parliamentary score-settling.
Image Source: GHANA BUSINESS NEWS
