President John Dramani Mahama has cautioned football fans and prospective travellers to respect immigration rules when heading abroad for the 2026 World Cup, stressing that Ghana cannot afford a repeat of past incidents where citizens overstayed their visas after international tournaments.

Addressing Parliament during his State of the Nation Address on Friday, February 27, the president said the government has worked hard to repair strained travel arrangements with the United States and does not want those gains reversed.

He noted that anyone planning to cheer on the national team would be required to follow proper visa procedures through the American Embassy and must return home once the competition ends.

“Supporters and other people interested in going to support the team would have to submit visa requests to the American Embassy,” he said.

Mahama added that American authorities have made it clear that Ghana must demonstrate compliance.

“We are being told that we must ensure that supporters who go [to the tournament] return on the visas. It has taken a lot of work to restore Ghana's five-year non-immigrant visas and take us off the ban list.”

He warned that large-scale visa violations could jeopardize those hard-won privileges.

“I hope the World Cup does not see thousands of Ghanaians travel to America, refuse to return, and push us back onto the travel ban list,” he said.

The tournament will be staged across Mexico, United States, and Canada, with Ghana’s senior national side, the Ghana national football team, setting up camp at Bryant University as their training base.

From there, the team is scheduled to face Panama, England, and Croatia in the group stage as they seek to make a strong impression on the global stage while the government keeps a close eye on compliance off the pitch.