Member of Parliament for Ketu North, Eric Edem Agbana, has proposed that resources meant to transport fans to the 2026 FIFA World Cup by the state be redirected toward sports infrastructure.

The lawmaker argued that the millions of dollars typically earmarked for fan travel would be better spent building AstroTurfs and sports complexes across Ghana’s 276 constituencies.

The government’s plans to fly supporters to the Mundial are far advanced, with a committee set up to raise funds from the private sector for the cause.

Agbana provided a breakdown of the potential costs, estimating that sending a single supporter to the 2026 World Cup for the group stages would cost approximately $9,000.

Under his estimation, if the state sponsors about 2,000 fans, it would expend roughly $18 million.

He noted that when distributed nationally, this would benefit fewer than ten people per constituency, a reach he described as inefficient compared to the lasting impact of permanent sporting facilities.

“This is my very personal view, and I hope I’m not misquoted,” he told Citi Sports. “I have tried to do some rough calculations on what it would cost government to send a single supporter to the World Cup, even just for the group stages, and if you ask me, I do not think government should invest public funds to take supporters there.”

“If you take just one supporter, it will cost around $9,000. If government intends to send about 2,000 supporters, we are talking about roughly $18 million.

“If you spread 2,000 supporters across the 276 constituencies in Ghana, each constituency would get fewer than ten people. If you asked me to bring even ten people from Ketu North to the World Cup and spend about $90,000, I would rather say use that money to build an AstroTurf or a sports complex in my constituency,” he said.

The Black Stars will open their campaign against Panama on June 17, before facing England on June 23 and Croatia on June 27.