Finance Minister Dr Cassiel Ato Forson has disclosed that the government will recover the GHS58 million advanced to the Black Stars for their participation in the 2026 FIFA World Cup once FIFA releases the team’s appearance fee.
Presenting the 2026 Mid-Year Budget Review in Parliament on Thursday, July 23, Dr Forson announced that the government had already disbursed GHS58 million to support the Black Stars’ preparations for the tournament.
“To support Ghana’s participation in the 2026 FIFA World Cup, an amount of GHS58 million has been paid,” he told Parliament.
Speaking later in an interview with Accra-baseed Citi FM, the Finance Minister explained that the funds were provided to enable the team to prepare adequately before FIFA released its financial support.
“Before FIFA gave them the money, they needed to spend. They needed to prepare and go for the World Cup before FIFA’s money,” he said.
According to Dr Forson, Parliament had approved a total budget of GHS150 million for Ghana’s World Cup campaign, based on the expectation that the Black Stars could progress to the final of the competition.
“So government needed to help out. I went to Parliament and allocated GHS150 million for the whole campaign, assuming that the national team was going all the way to the finals,” he explained.
He stressed that the GHS58 million was only an advance and would be reimbursed to the state after FIFA pays Ghana its World Cup participation funds.
“We gave them GHS58 million… I’ll go and collect my money,” Dr Forson stated.
The Black Stars’ 2026 FIFA World Cup campaign ended in the round of 32 following their defeat to Colombia.
