Thomas Partey to miss Ghana’s 2026 World Cup opener after Canada denies him visa amid rape allegations
Ex-Arsenal midfielder Thomas Partey will miss Ghana’s opener of the 2026 FIFA World Cup against Panama in Toronto after he was denied visa to enter Canada amid his pending rape case in the United Kingdom.
According to The Athletic, FIFA confirmed the development to the news agency in a statement on Friday, with the world football’s governing body reiterating that it has no power to determine host countries’ immigration process.
“FIFA can confirm that player Thomas Partey will be unable to travel from Ghana’s team base camp in Boston, USA, to Canada for their first match against Panama on Wednesday, 17 June, as his visa application has been refused by the Canadian government.
“FIFA is not involved in the immigration processes of host countries, including the adjudication of visas. As with previous FIFA events, the host government ultimately determines who receives a visa and is admitted into the country,” the statement said.
The Black Stars of Ghana are set to begin their World Cup campaign against Panama in Toronto on June 18 before facing England in their second group game in Boston five days later.
Ghana will play Croatia in their last Group L match in Philadelphia on June 27.
The 32-year-old is facing seven charges of rape and one charge of sexual assault. He has denied every allegation and remains on bail.
We have recently deactivated our website's comment provider in favour of other channels of distribution and commentary. We encourage you to join the conversation on our stories via our Facebook, Twitter and other social media pages.
More from Peoples Gazette
Agriculture
FG tasks ECOWAS on leveraging financing strategies for agroecology
The federal government has urged stakeholders in the agriculture and finance sectors in the West Africa region to leverage financing strategies to enhance agroecology practices
Politics
Katsina youths pledge to deliver over 2 million votes to Atiku
“Katsina State is Atiku’s political base because it is his second home.”
World
MapQuest becomes top free app in U.S. after refusing to rename Lake Ontario
Other platforms such as Apple Maps and Google Maps have changed the name of the lake for U.S. users.
Lagos
AGESI, NSE collaborate on engineering certification
Olufemi Dare, NSE Ibeju‑Lekki branch’s chairman, noted that the CREC™ programme “aligns strongly with our mandate to strengthen engineering practice and enhance member competence”.
States
2027: Zamfara APC vows to deliver state to Tinubu
He assured that the APC would not only win the state but would do so with a wide margin.
States
Petroleum marketers urge Soludo to address rising cost of doing business in Anambra
Mr Nwankwo said the business was becoming harsh and less profitable.
States
Police arrest man over alleged N40 million job scam in Kano
The PPRO said more than 10 victims had so far come forward during the investigation.
NationWide
AI disinformation threatens credibility of 2027 elections, INEC warns
Mr Amupitan said that generative AI had made it increasingly difficult to detect manipulated video, audio and imagery.
