President John Dramani Mahama has cautioned Ghanaian supporters planning to travel to North America for the 2026 FIFA World Cup to strictly adhere to immigration regulations and return home after the tournament.
Delivering his State of the Nation Address in Parliament on Friday, February 27, President Mahama warned that failure to comply with visa conditions could jeopardize Ghana’s recently restored visa privileges.
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He noted that supporters intending to travel would be required to apply for visas through the American Embassy and stressed the importance of responsible conduct abroad.
“We are being told that we must ensure that supporters who go [to the tournament] return on the visas. It has taken a lot of work to restore Ghana’s five-year non-immigrant visas and take us off the ban list,” the president stated.
He further expressed concern that a repeat of past incidents, where some citizens failed to return after international events, could have serious consequences for the country.
“I hope the World Cup does not see thousands of Ghanaians travel to America, refuse to return, and push us back onto the travel ban list,” he added.
The 2026 FIFA World Cup will be jointly hosted by the United States, Canada, and Mexico and is expected to draw thousands of Ghanaian supporters eager to back the Black Stars.
Preparations for the tournament are already underway, with Ghana scheduled to use Bryant University as its base camp.
The Black Stars are set to face Panama, England, and Croatia in the group stage of the global showpiece.
