Twenty-five Ghanaian nationals who traveled to Canada with a temporary residence permit tied to the 2026 World Cup have sought asylum after their arrival in the country, according to figures published by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC).
In total, 26,111 people had obtained a temporary residence authorization by indicating that they were heading to Canada for the 2026 World Cup, co-hosted with the United States and Mexico. As of July 20, 2026, 175 of them had subsequently filed an asylum application.
Ghana is among the nationalities with the largest number of applications, with 25 cases, equal to China. Egypt and Colombia each record 15 applications, while Senegal, Bangladesh and Nigeria have 10 each.
The Canadian authorities did not specify whether the asylum seekers were players, delegation members, coaching staff, or simply supporters present to follow the competition.
This type of situation is not new. After the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, around 200 Ghanaians had already sought asylum, citing religious persecution, allegations that the Ghanaian government had then rejected.
