Entertainment
2026 World Cup: Ghana Has a Rare Chance to Showcase Its Culture, Tourism and Creativity
When the Black Stars qualify for a World Cup, something happens to Ghana that is almost impossible to put into words. Streets erupt. Horns blare. Flags appear on everything that moves. People who have never spoken to each other are suddenly hugging and arguing about formations in the same breath.
Even at times when many people seem nonchalant about the chances of the Black Stars, the interest gets aroused once the tournament fever gets ignited. There is something in the air that cuts across tribe, class, and every political divide we nurse the rest of the year.
I have lived through several of those moments. Every single time, I feel it too. But I have also watched us do something that quietly bothers me. We usually celebrate the qualification, we party hard, and then we almost completely miss the opportunity sitting right in front of us.
Because the World Cup was never just about football.
Billions of people watch the FIFA World Cup. Not millions. Billions. It is the most watched event in human history. For about a month, the eyes of the entire world land on a small group of countries, their players, their food, their music, and their stories. Most countries send a football team. The smart ones send a brand. This means about five billion people are going to watch the 2026 FIFA World from June 11 to July 19.
Qatar in 2022 used the tournament to introduce themselves to a world that had strong opinions but very little real knowledge of them. They walked away with a global profile and investment conversations that would have taken decades of quiet diplomacy to build. South Africa in 2010 turned complex global perceptions into a tourism surge that the continent still talks about. The vuvuzela became a cultural reference overnight. Johannesburg became a destination. Brazil in 2014 beamed the Amazon, Carnival, and the warmth of its people into living rooms across the planet without running a single clever advertisement.
The lesson is that, the nations that truly win the World Cup are very often not the ones lifting the trophy.
Here is what genuinely frustrates me as a Ghanaian in the media. We are sitting on one of the most powerful national stories in the world and we keep treating it like a secret.
Ghana lit the fire of African independence. We are the home of Afrobeats long before the genre had that name or that global audience. We are the birthplace of Kente, of Highlife, of the Chale Wote Street Art Festival, and of jollof rice arguments that have broken the internet more than once. Cape Coast Castle carries one of the heaviest and most important stories in human history. Mole National Park, Lake Volta, the Kejetia Market, and an arts scene producing globally relevant work that the world is only beginning to discover. And Accra, one of the most exciting cities on the continent right now, with a cultural heritage and a creative energy that visitors talk about for years after they leave.
The world does not know enough of this. That is not their fault. It is ours.
The World Cup hands us a microphone in front of billions of people. The only question is whether we are going to say something worth remembering.
The tournament is four days away. It kicks off on June 11, 2026 across the United States, Canada, and Mexico. There is no time for long planning cycles or documents that sit in inboxes. Ghana finished top of CAF Group I with 25 points from ten matches. The Black Stars are there. The question is whether Brand Ghana is going with them. There is currently no concrete plan from the powers that be to rightly position Ghana’s culture, arts and tourism on the world map. At this juncture, we either hit the ground running as soon as possible or we miss this golden opportunity.
Hon. Abla Dzifa Gomashie, the Minister for Tourism, Culture and Creative Arts, and Maame Efua Houadjeto, the CEO of the Ghana Tourism Authority, are the two people best positioned to move this from conversation to action right now. The frameworks exist. The institutions are in place. What this moment demands is one decision to treat this World Cup as a national branding event, not just a sporting one.
The plan is straightforward. Agree on one national story, one emotional thread, and push it across every available platform for the next month. Not a tagline. A real story. The difference between the two is the difference between a billboard and a conversation.
Ghana needs broadcast-ready content on our culture, food, fashion, and history made available to international broadcasters covering the tournament. The diaspora in London, New York, Toronto, and Amsterdam must be activated immediately as grassroots Brand Ghana ambassadors. Our artistes: Akwaboah, Fuse ODG, Shatta Wale, Sarkodie, Black Sherif, Stonebwoy, DopeNation, Kofi Kinaata, Grace Ashly, along with an entire generation of globally credible Ghanaian creatives, need to be in this campaign.
A coordinated digital strategy with one hashtag and a network of content creators producing daily material across TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, and X should have started yesterday. Every major broadcaster should be running cultural programming that goes well beyond match previews and post-game analysis. Hotels, airlines, consumer brands, and the Ghana Football Association all have clear roles. But everything must connect under one coherent national narrative, not a dozen separate campaigns pulling in opposite directions.
The Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Creative Arts should convene an emergency Brand Ghana activation meeting this week (if they haven’t done that already), pulling in the GTA, the Creative Arts Agency, the Ghana Football Association, Blackstar Experience Secretariat, Diaspora Affairs Directorate and private sector partners to align on one campaign message. The GTA should immediately compile and distribute a Ghana Culture and Tourism Media Pack comprising high-quality photography, short video content, destination guides, and cultural profiles, made freely available to every international broadcaster and journalist at the tournament. Ghana’s embassies and high commissions in the US, UK, Canada, and Germany should be briefed to host Ghana Night cultural events during the tournament. A Ghana presence at the FIFA Fan Zones in the host cities should also be pursued immediately as a live showcase of who we are.
Every major Ghanaian broadcaster should dedicate airtime to a World Cup cultural series spotlighting our tourism destinations, chefs, fashion designers, and heritage sites for the full duration of the tournament. A dedicated team of Ghanaian journalists, videographers, and content creators should be on the ground in the host cities producing real-time Ghana content from inside the tournament environment.
One unified campaign hashtag should be agreed on and launched as soon as possible, with every government agency, media house, brand, and artiste committed to using it consistently. A daily content calendar covering Ghana’s destinations, food, music, and culture should run across TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, and X, tied to match day energy. Ghanaian content creators, both local and diaspora, should be onboarded with a clear Brand Ghana content guide and posting schedule. Targeted digital advertising should run in the US, UK, Canada, and Europe during peak viewing windows, pointing audiences directly to Ghana tourism platforms.
Ghanaian musicians, fashion designers, chefs, and visual artists should be formally engaged as Brand Ghana World Cup Ambassadors this week, given a clear brief and the creative freedom to tell our story authentically. Diaspora associations across North America and Europe should mobilise Ghana cultural activations on match days, when our visibility is naturally at its highest. Airlines, hotels, and hospitality brands should move immediately to package offerings that bundle the football experience with cultural visits to Cape Coast Castle, Kumasi, Mole National Park, and Accra. Ghanaian restaurants abroad should run match day events that introduce guests to Ghana beyond the scoreline.
The benefits will not always be immediate. It shows up in tourism bookings six months from now. It shows up when an investor who watched Ghana play raises the country’s name in a boardroom. It shows up when a young person in Seoul or São Paulo opens Google to find out more about where these players come from.
None of this requires us to build something from scratch. The talent is here. The culture is here. The institutions exist. What this moment demands is urgency and the will to act in the next four days with the same passion we pour into supporting the team on match night.
The Black Stars carry our footballing dreams. Brand Ghana has to carry something bigger.
Four days. Five billion people. Let us make sure they see more than football.
Go Ghana ! Ghana to the World!
Sports
Black Star Balloon Tour Launched to Unite Ghanaians Behind World Cup Dream
The Government of Ghana has thrown its support behind a new nationwide initiative aimed at strengthening unity and boosting backing for the Black Stars ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
The campaign, known as the Black Star Balloon Tour, was officially launched in Accra and is designed to travel across all regions of the country, engaging citizens in a shared show of support for the national team.
At the heart of the initiative is a symbolic balloon, which will be taken around the country for Ghanaians to sign and write messages of encouragement for the Black Stars as they prepare for upcoming international competitions.
Speaking at the launch, the Deputy Minister for Tourism, Culture and Creative Arts, Yussif Issaka Jajah, described the project as more than just a sporting campaign.
He said the initiative is intended to bring people together across regions and backgrounds while also promoting tourism, youth engagement and patriotism through football.
The event attracted a wide cross-section of stakeholders, including government officials, Members of Parliament, traditional leaders, corporate executives, football supporters and members of the diplomatic community, all pledging support for the national team.
Also speaking at the launch, Minority Leader and Member of Parliament for Effutu, Alexander Afenyo-Markin, expressed confidence in the Black Stars’ ability to make an impact at the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
He urged Ghanaians to remain united behind the team throughout their campaign, stressing that national support could play a key role in inspiring strong performances on the global stage.
“The Black Stars are capable of surprising the world. Ghanaians must remain united and support the team throughout the journey,” he stated.
“The players must know that the entire nation is behind them as they embark on this important journey,” he added.
The Black Stars are preparing for their fifth appearance at the FIFA World Cup after securing qualification for the expanded 2026 tournament, which will be jointly hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico.
Ghana have been drawn in Group L alongside England, Croatia and Panama, setting up a challenging group-stage campaign as they aim to progress beyond the first round for the first time since 2010.
‘Sports Belongs to All of Us’ – AfPC President Samson Deen Advocates Collective Action for Sports Development
President of the African Paralympic Committee (AfPC), Mr. Samson Deen, has issued a passionate call for national unity and a renewed commitment to positive sports branding, urging Ghanaians to collectively promote sports as a national asset capable of attracting investment, creating opportunities, and elevating the country’s global image.
Speaking at the official launch of the Countdown to the 2026 Commonwealth Games in Accra, Mr. Deen stressed that the future growth of Ghanaian sports depends not only on athletes and administrators but also on the media, corporate institutions, government agencies, and the general public working together to project a positive narrative.
According to him, persistent negativity, public disputes, and excessive criticism within the sports ecosystem continue to undermine efforts to attract private-sector investment and corporate sponsorship.
“Sports is one of Ghana’s greatest national products. If we continue to speak negatively about ourselves and our institutions, we make it difficult for investors and corporate Ghana to see the opportunities that exist within our sporting sector,” Mr. Deen stated.
The AfPC President emphasized that corporate sponsorship is driven by confidence, visibility, and value creation, and therefore sports stakeholders must consciously package and market Ghanaian sports in a way that demonstrates professionalism, growth potential, and national impact.
“For corporate Ghana to come in and support us, we need to brand our sports in a way that makes everyone understand that the time is now. We must collectively create an environment that encourages investment rather than discourages it,” he added.
Mr. Deen expressed concern that sports leaders often spend more time defending institutions and seeking support than focusing on athlete development, infrastructure, talent identification, and international competitiveness.
He further noted that sports should never be viewed as the responsibility of a single organization, whether the Ghana Olympic Committee, Ghana Paralympic Committee, African Paralympic Committee, National Sports Authority, or the Ministry responsible for Sports.
Instead, he described sports as a shared national enterprise belonging to every Ghanaian.
“Sports does not belong to one institution. Sports belongs to Ghana. Sports belongs to all of us. Therefore, we all have a responsibility to protect it, promote it, and contribute to its growth,” he said.
With the countdown to the Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games officially underway, Mr. Deen called for stronger collaboration among sports federations, corporate organizations, government institutions, development partners, and media practitioners to position Ghana as a leading sporting nation on the African continent.
Business
Ghana Shippers’ Authority Hosts High-Value Shippers Forum to Boost Trade Competitiveness
The Ghana Shippers’ Authority (GSA) has reaffirmed its commitment to strengthening its collaboration with the trading community to catalyze Ghana’s quest to become the most preferred multimodal shipping hub in the West African sub-region. This was evident at its High Value Shippers’ (Platinum) Engagement Forum held in Accra on Thursday, 4th June 2026.
The forum brought together some of Ghana’s leading importers, exporters, manufacturers, and industry stakeholders to discuss emerging issues within the shipping and logistics value chain; and to explore practical solutions to enhance trade competitiveness and operational efficiency. Participants included representatives from the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG), the Ghana Armed Forces, Nestlé Ghana, Cargill, Olam, CIMAF Cement, Ghacem Cement, Guinness Ghana Limited, B5 Plus, Blue Skies, and Duraplast.
Delivering the welcome address on behalf of the Chief Executive Officer, Professor Ransford Gyampo, the Head of Shipper Services & Trade Facilitation (SSTF), Mrs. Monica Josiah, emphasized GSA’s commitment to fostering stronger collaboration with key industry players to build a robust and viable sector to anchor the government’s 24-Hour Economy. She noted that the forum reflected the collective determination of stakeholders to not only strengthen collaboration within the shipping and logistics value chain, but to also, create opportunities for constructive dialogue on issues that affect international trade.
“Today’s gathering reflects our collective commitment to strengthen partnerships within the shipping and logistics value chain while creating a practical platform for dialogue on the critical challenges confronting shippers in Ghana and beyond,” she stated.
Mrs. Josiah acknowledged the significant role played by high-value shippers in Ghana’s socio-economic development, noting that their contributions to trade, industrial growth, employment creation, and government revenue generation continue to position them as indispensable partners in national development.
“As importers, exporters, manufacturers and investors, your activities sustain supply chains and connect Ghana to the global marketplace.” she said.
She further observed that the global shipping and logistics industry continues to face unprecedented disruptions and uncertainties. Rising freight rates, port congestion, container shortages, unpredictable transit schedules, exchange rate volatility, geopolitical tensions, trade restrictions, and increasing compliance requirements continue to exert considerable operational and financial pressure on businesses worldwide.
Ghanaian shippers consequently continue to encounter a number of challenges, including high shipping and port-related charges (container administrative charges and ancillary fees), delay in cargo clearance processes, demurrage and storage costs, cargo handling difficulties, insurance and claims settlement concerns, and the need for greater transparency and efficiency across the logistics chain.
“These concerns are genuine and require collaborative solution from all stakeholders within the trade facilitation ecosystem. Sustainable solutions can only be achieved through cooperation, dialogue, and mutual understanding among regulators, service providers and the trading community,” she noted.
Mrs. Josiah reiterated that GSA, as the statutory regulator of the commercial activities of shippers and shipping service providers under Act 1122 (2024) remains committed to protecting and promoting the interests of shippers while facilitating an efficient, competitive, and responsive shipping environment that continually improves the ease and cost of doing business.
“The shipping industry is evolving rapidly, driven by digitalization, sustainability requirements, the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) and changing global supply chain dynamics. Ghanaian shippers must therefore be positioned to remain competitive within both regional and international markets,” she emphasized. She encouraged participants who had not yet registered with GSA to do so promptly, hinting that the current registration fees would soon be reviewed upward.
The high point of the forum was a presentation on ongoing efforts to streamline the Container Administrative Charge which has become topical in recent times. Mr. Kwesi Saforo, a Senior Officer of the Research, Monitoring & Evaluation (RME) department of GSA who made the presentation explained that under Section 3(1)(o) of the Ghana Shippers’ Authority Act, Act 1122 (2024), GSA is mandated to approve any charge imposed by a shipping service provider. Section 36 of the Act further prohibits shipping service providers from administering charges that have not been approved by GSA. He informed the forum that, upon extensive research into the Container Administrative Charge across other countries in West African subregion where the shipping Lines also ply their trade, it was found that, the charge in Ghana is significantly higher. Whilst the charge is pegged at USD 165 per TEU in Ghana, it was pegged at USD 30 per TEU in Nigeria and at USD 65 per TEU in Togo by the same shipping Lines.
GSA, in the exercise of its statutory mandate, whose ultimate aim is to facilitate an amiable environment for international trade and thereby make Ghana the West African hub for international trade, intervened to forestall the practice that has contributed significantly to the overall cost of doing business. Participants were informed that, on that score, the Container Administrative Charge was reviewed and pegged at GHC 550.00 per TEU to align with the actual service that is rendered in Ghana. The Forum also learnt that, upon a petition by the shipping Lines, the Honourable Minister for Transport, Hon. Joseph Bukari Nikpe intervened and directed that the charge be pegged at GHC 720.00 per TEU whilst further consultation amongst stakeholders is undertaken to aid the conclusive resolution of the impasse.
Representatives of the Ghana Standards Authority also briefed participants on proposed revisions to procedures that govern the Certification and Verification of measuring and weighing devices used in commercial activities. According to the Authority, the reforms are intended to improve accuracy, compliance, transparency, and standardization within the industry. Stakeholders were assured that implementation would be preceded by extensive consultation to ensure that any industry concerns are adequately addressed.
The interactive session provided participants with the opportunity to share issues affecting their operations for redress. Several stakeholders expressed dissatisfaction with the persistent burden of high demurrage charges, indicating that the charges contribute to the cost of doing business and invariably reduces the competitiveness of Ghana’s ports.
Participants also raised concern about the deployment of the Publican Artificial Intelligence (AI) System by the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) at the ports. They alleged that the AI-driven import declaration vetting system had in certain instances resulted in unreasonable charges. They called for continuous stakeholder engagement and periodic reviews to ensure that the system supports objectives for its introduction without imposing undue financial burden on businesses.
In his closing remarks, the Deputy Chief Executive Officer in charge of Operations (DCEO-Operations) at GSA, Mr. Prince Henry Ankrah, expressed appreciation to participants for their active engagement and valuable contributions to the discussions. He assured stakeholders that GSA would act promptly on concerns raised, and would ensure to revert to the respective stakeholders with the requisite remediation responses and / or interventions.
“The Ghana Shippers’ Authority will continue to work with all stakeholders to address industry concerns and facilitate a trade environment that is efficient, competitive, and responsive to the needs of businesses,” Mr. Ankrah stated.
The Platinum Shippers’ Forum forms part of GSA’s stakeholder engagement strategy aimed at promoting awareness, strengthening compliance, and fostering collaboration within Ghana’s shipping and logistics ecosystem. Through such engagements, GSA continues to create opportunities for industry players to share experiences, discuss challenges, and contribute to the development of policies that support sustainable trade and economic growth.
As Ghana navigates an increasingly dynamic global trading environment, GSA is poised to work more closely with importers, exporters, shipping service providers, regulators, and other stakeholders to build a more competitive, transparent, and resilient shipping and logistics industry.