Former Deputy Sports Minister Pius Enam Hadzide has raised questions over the National Sports Authority’s (NSA) recent formation of a secretariat and appointments he says fall outside the agency’s official structure. His comments came during an interview on Joy News’ PM Express on Monday, October 12, as the controversy around the 2026 World Cup visa payments continues to unfold.
Hadzide demanded clarity on who holds responsibility for the alleged irregularities involving visa facilitation. “But we must be clear as to who was responsible for what in this case, and a secretariat has been established at the National Sports Authority (NSA). An appointment alien to the organogram has been made,” he said.
The former minister pointed to what he described as confessions of payments and official letters as grounds for investigation. “You are having people confessing that they paid money,” Hadzide said. He added that documents passed through both the Sports and Recreation Ministry and the Foreign Affairs Ministry before reaching the embassy. “Journalists, who unearthed the visa scandal, now have those documents.”
The allegations involve claims that individuals linked to the NSA collected approximately $623,000 to facilitate World Cup visas. The NSA has denied authorising any collection of money or the operation of a visa facilitation office. The Sports Ministry has also denied wrongdoing, insisting that forwarding letters through diplomatic channels did not constitute selecting applicants or guaranteeing visas. The police Criminal Investigations Department is currently investigating the matter.
Hadzide defended the New Patriotic Party’s (NPP) criticism of Sports Minister Kofi Adams and NSA Chief Executive Officer Yaw Ampofo Ankrah. He said the criticism is based on signed letters and testimonies from those who claimed to have paid money. “So you see that if somebody is being blamed, either the minister or the NSA, here’s a basis for that blame,” Hadzide said.
He contrasted the current controversy with his own experience during the 2018 Australian visa scandal. That incident involved allegations that Ghanaians posed as journalists to enter Australia for the Commonwealth Games. Hadzide was suspended by President Nana Akufo-Addo in April 2018 but was cleared and reinstated in July of the same year.
“Unfortunately, in my own case, I didn’t find the basis, but I carried the cross,” Hadzide said. He argued that no evidence has emerged publicly showing he was paid for travel to Australia and called for a reassessment of the episode. “So for me, there should be clarity now on the 2018 so-called Australia visa scandal,” he added.
The 2026 World Cup visa payments controversy has dominated headlines since journalists revealed how alleged facilitators charged large sums for visa assistance, a process normally handled through official diplomatic channels. The Sports Ministry insists it merely forwarded documents without influencing visa decisions.
Hadzide’s intervention draws attention to the opaque structures within the NSA and raises questions about internal governance. His insistence on accountability taps into broader concerns about transparency in Ghana’s sports administration.
The police CID’s ongoing probe means the full picture remains unclear. Meanwhile, Hadzide’s call to revisit the 2018 scandal signals a demand for consistency in holding officials accountable across different administrations.
According to Joy Online.
