New Patriotic Party (NPP) communications team member and former Sports Ministry aide Jamaludeen A. Abdullah has accused individuals involved in arrangements for Ghanaian supporters to travel to international football competitions of selling travel opportunities instead of allocating them fairly.
Speaking to Isaac Addae on Morning Starr on Starr FM, Mr Abdullah alleged that some individuals charged ordinary Ghanaians between $10,000 and $15,000 for visa connections through a company known as Tribe Culture Fest.
He claimed that government appointees collaborated with the company in the alleged scheme, citing what he said were emails from the American Embassy’s Fraud Detection Unit. The allegations have not been independently verified.
Mr Abdullah further alleged that an official associated with the National Service Authority (NSA) received $60,000 from the arrangement, although he did not provide independently verified evidence to substantiate the claim.
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He expressed frustration over what he described as the commercialisation of opportunities for supporters to travel to international football tournaments, arguing that the process should have been fair and transparent.
Drawing on his experience at the Ministry of Sports, where he said he served for four years as a personal assistant to the minister, Mr Abdullah said supporters affiliated with different political parties were accommodated during previous tournament trips.
He cited trips to Qatar, Côte d’Ivoire and Cameroon, claiming that supporters affiliated with the National Democratic Congress (NDC) were also given travel slots under arrangements he helped oversee.
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Mr Abdullah questioned why supporters were allegedly being made to pay for opportunities that he believes should be allocated fairly.
“What sort of greediness is that?” he asked.
He condemned what he described as the sale of World Cup travel opportunities, arguing that the arrangements had been driven by greed rather than fairness in selecting Ghanaian supporters to travel.
Story by: Pamela Quayson
