Sports Minister Kofi Adams Under Ghana Visa Pressure
PROFILE · GHANA
Key Facts
- —The country Ghana, in West Africa, is a presidential democracy where a minister can also sit in Parliament, as Kofi Adams does.
- —Why it matters Opposition lawmakers want Parliament to summon the sports minister over claims that people paid for US and Canadian visa help. He denies any part in a scheme.
- —Why now On Thursday 15 October he said he would not run away from a parliamentary probe, as an opposition MP filed petitions with two state anti-corruption bodies.
- —What happened He has led the Ministry of Sports and Recreation since February 2025, and the opposition has called for his removal since 7 October.
- —The numbers The Minority alleges applicants paid US$7,000 to US$14,000 each. The Black Stars lost both opening 2027 qualifiers, 2-0 and 4-2.
- —What it means for US readers The dispute concerns access to US visas for a tournament staged in the United States, and it shows how closely applications for staff and officials are checked.
- —Still open Whether Parliament summons him, whether the two bodies accept the petitions, and whether any evidence ties him to money collected.
Sports Minister Kofi Adams is the main political target in Ghana’s World Cup visa dispute, and this profile sets out who he is and what he says. He has held the portfolio since February 2025 and rejects the opposition’s calls for his dismissal.
The New Patriotic Party (NPP), now in opposition, wants Parliament to summon him over claims that people paid thousands of dollars for US and Canadian visa help. The reports reviewed show no charge and no official finding against him, and he is presumed innocent.
Sports Minister Kofi Adams at a Glance
Kofi Iddie Adams was born on 2 May 1975 in Teteman, a town in the Jasikan District of the Oti Region. Graphic Online lists him as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Buem, a constituency in that region.
The ministry’s own leadership page names him as Minister for Sports and Recreation. In a Citi FM interview on Thursday 15 October he said he is also an MP and would not run away from a parliamentary probe.
He belongs to the National Democratic Congress (NDC), the party of President John Dramani Mahama. Because he sits in Parliament, the House the opposition wants him to appear before is also his workplace.
From Classroom to Cabinet
Mr Adams holds a Bachelor of Science degree in zoology, with a focus on the epidemiology of parasitic diseases. He taught at Adisadel College before moving into politics.
He became spokesperson and Director of Public Affairs for the former president Jerry John Rawlings. Inside the NDC he served as Deputy General Secretary and was elected National Organiser in December 2014.
For the 2016 election he was named campaign coordinator of the NDC’s 15-member national campaign team. He then won the party primary for Buem ahead of the 2020 vote, beating the sitting MP Daniel Kosi Ashaimah by 388 votes to 280.
In December 2020 he won the seat with 71.84% of the vote, against Lawrence Kwami Aziale of the NPP, and was sworn in on 7 January 2021. By early 2025 he was a second-term MP, and the Ghana News Agency calls him an ardent boxing follower.
What He Promised When He Took Office
President Mahama named him on Tuesday 21 January 2025, and Parliament’s Appointments Committee vetted him on Thursday 30 January. He was sworn in at Jubilee House in Accra on Friday 7 February 2025, succeeding Mustapha Ussif, who served from 2021 to 2025.
At vetting he promised to back grassroots sport, revive inter-collegiate competitions and work with players on a pension scheme for retired athletes. He also said he knew of a sector debt that had to be dealt with.
At the swearing-in the President told him he did not envy his job and called the state of Ghanaian sport a “shambles”. He pointed to the Ghana Football Association (GFA) as the place to start.
He told the committee that the ministry would improve its maintenance culture so that no facility decays until it is banned from use. Citi Newsroom reported the pledge on 30 January 2025.
The Visa Dispute and His Defence
On Thursday 17 September Mr Adams told Parliament’s Youth and Sports Committee that neither Washington nor Ottawa had reported World Cup visa overstays. The Minority had alleged that two officials among 431 sponsored travellers had not returned.
On Wednesday 7 October, the opposition Minority in Parliament called for his removal and for prosecution of anyone found to have committed a crime. Its lead voice on sport, Vincent Ekow Assafuah, alleged that people who were not staff were presented to embassies as staff, and that some applicants paid between US$7,000 and US$14,000.
Mr Assafuah has also asked whether the minister was complicit or negligent, and he points to an embassy email of 3 February 2026 that copied the ministry. He argues that it shows contact with the US Embassy earlier than the ministry has said.
The ministry rejects the claims through its spokesperson, who told Daily Graphic that the Minority’s 49-page statement showed no link between the minister and illegal visa facilitation. He says the ministry had no contract with TRIBE Culture Fest, the private events firm at the heart of the case.
The spokesperson says the National Sports Authority (NSA) sought support for 90 volunteers and event operators, and that Mr Adams passed the request to his Chief Director for review by the US Embassy’s technical group. In his view, forwarding a request is not an endorsement of the people named.
Mr Adams told Channel One TV on Tuesday 13 October, as Citi Newsroom reported, that he saw no justification for his dismissal. He said the NSA, the tourism authority, the US Embassy and TRIBE acted without the ministry knowing, and dates the key letter 19 May, while his spokesperson says 10 May.
On Sunday 11 October he said the US Embassy introduced TRIBE to the NSA and the Ghana Tourism Authority (GTA). On Tuesday 13 October he said he had warned Ghanaians repeatedly not to pay intermediaries for visas.
On 15 October he said the ministry never described anyone as an NSA official, and that its list called them volunteers and event coordinators. He also denied sending Canada any NSA list, though the Minority says the Canadian Embassy queried NSA-linked applicants.
A Second Front, the Black Stars
The minister also faces pressure over football. Ghana lost 2-0 in Bouaké to Côte d’Ivoire and then 4-2 to The Gambia in Accra in its first two 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers.
Coach Carlos Queiroz stepped down, and Mr Adams summoned the Ghana Football Association (GFA) to demand answers. He told TV3 the problem was “structural, involving both leadership and talent”.
What It Means for US Readers
The World Cup was staged in the United States, Canada and Mexico, so the dispute is about access to US and Canadian visas for officials, performers and fans. The ministry says it worked with the US Embassy on secure application channels, while the Minority says the embassy’s Fraud Prevention Unit queried some applicants.
Only consular officers decide US visas, and Mr Adams says the ministry knew nothing of any payments. Anyone offered a guaranteed visa for a fee should treat it as a warning sign.
For investors and visitors, this is a Ghana politics story, not a travel restriction. None of the reports reviewed shows any change to US visa rules for Ghanaians.
What Is Not Known
Nobody has been charged, and the reports reviewed show no public evidence that Mr Adams received money. The ministry says the Minority has produced none, and the Minority’s claims rest on documents that the reports reviewed do not reproduce in full.
The date of the key NSA letter is disputed (the Minority has pointed to 19 March), and the ministry’s timeline of its contacts with the US Embassy is contested by the opposition. It is also unclear whether Parliament’s committee will summon him, or whether the two anti-corruption bodies will accept the petitions filed on 15 October.
The sources do not say how President Mahama views the minister’s position. GBC Ghana says a Presidency probe is being prepared, but the reports reviewed do not confirm one.
Our explainer Ghana World Cup Visa Fraud Allegations Explained sets out the full allegations and denials. For the wider political picture, see Who Runs Ghana in 2026, Elites, Chiefs and Gold Money.
The football side of his brief is covered in AFCON 2027: Dates, Qualifiers, Standings and Fixtures. The board of the National Sports Authority was among those dissolved in September, as set out in Ghana Sacks Nine State Boards Days After Profit Report.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Sports Minister Kofi Adams?
Kofi Iddie Adams is Ghana’s Minister for Sports and Recreation and the NDC Member of Parliament for Buem. He took office on 7 February 2025 after serving as National Organiser of his party.
What does the opposition say about him?
The Minority in Parliament wants him removed and has asked whether he was complicit or negligent in the World Cup visa arrangements. Its claims are allegations, and the ministry rejects them.
What does Kofi Adams say?
He says he would not run away from a parliamentary probe and that the ministry did not know what the NSA, the tourism authority and TRIBE were doing. He denies that his ministry described anyone as NSA officials.
Has he been charged?
No charge or official finding against him has been reported. The Criminal Investigation Department is reported to be investigating the visa scheme more widely.
What was his career before the ministry?
He taught at Adisadel College, worked as a spokesperson for former president Jerry John Rawlings and became NDC National Organiser in 2014. He has been MP for Buem since January 2021.
Sources: Ministry of Sports and Recreation, leadership page; Citi Newsroom, Kofi Adams on a parliamentary probe (15 October 2026); Graphic Online, Sports Ministry rejects visa claims; Graphic Online, Minority calls for removal (7 October 2026); Graphic Online, minister-designate profile (January 2025); Graphic Online, swearing-in (7 February 2025); Ghana News Agency, nomination (21 January 2025); MyJoyOnline, Kofi Adams on TRIBE Culture Fest (11 October 2026); MyJoyOnline, Assafuah on the GTA list (10 October 2026); Citi Newsroom, Kofi Adams rejects calls for his removal (13 October 2026); Citi Newsroom, Adams before the Youth and Sports Committee (17 September 2026); Citi Newsroom, vetting (30 January 2025); 3News, full text of the CHRAJ petition (15 October 2026); GBC Ghana, Kofi Adams says there is no basis for his dismissal (14 October 2026); Adom Online, Kofi Adams on the Black Stars (12 October 2026).
This article was produced by The Rio Times’ automated newsroom system. How we use AI · Report an error · Editorial responsibility: Matthias Camenzind, Editor-in-Chief
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