The Minority in Parliament is demanding answers from the Ghana Football Association (GFA) and the Ministry of Sports and Recreation over Thomas Partey’s inability to enter Canada for Ghana’s 2026 FIFA World Cup opener against Panama.
Ranking Member of Parliament’s Youth, Sports and Culture Committee, Vincent Ekow Assafuah, says the key issue is whether the relevant institutions carried out the necessary administrative and legal due diligence before Partey was included in Ghana’s final World Cup plans.
The Minority stressed that its concerns are not about determining Partey’s guilt or innocence, but about how the visa and admissibility issues were handled ahead of the tournament.
“What did they know, when did they know it, and what steps did they take?” Assafuah asked.
The Minority is also seeking clarity on whether Canadian authorities were engaged, whether legal advice was obtained, whether Partey’s admissibility was assessed and whether contingency plans were considered in the event that he could not enter Canada.
The GFA has maintained that it worked with Partey, his legal representatives, FIFA and the relevant Canadian authorities throughout the visa process, and that the Canadian Federal Court’s decision was based on immigration admissibility considerations rather than any failure by the Association to provide information.
By: Emmanuel Opoku