Twenty-five Ghanaians who travelled to Canada for the FIFA World Cup 2026 have submitted asylum applications, according to figures released by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC).
The claims form part of 175 asylum applications made by foreign visitors who entered Canada after receiving temporary residence approval linked to the World Cup, which was co-hosted by Canada, the United States and Mexico.
IRCC said it approved temporary residence applications for 26,111 people who indicated they were travelling in connection with the FIFA World Cup. As of July 20, 2026, 175 of those individuals had subsequently applied for asylum.
“Of the 26,111 individuals with prior FIFA-related approved temporary residence applications, 175 people later submitted asylum claims,” IRCC said in a statement as reported by The Globe and Mail newspaper in Canada.
The department noted that the figures cover only applicants who identified “FIFA World Cup 26” in their temporary residence applications.
Among the countries with the highest number of asylum claims, Ghana recorded 25 applications, alongside China with 25. Egypt and Colombia each had 15 claims, while Senegal, Bangladesh and Nigeria recorded 10 apiece. Ecuador, Burundi, Nepal and Pakistan each accounted for five applications.
Canadian authorities did not disclose how many of the asylum seekers were football players, team officials, support staff or ordinary visitors who attended the tournament.
It is not unusual for foreign sports team members or support staff to apply for asylum.
In 2014, about 200 Ghanaians sought asylum after the World Cup in Brazil, citing religious persecution, claims the Government of Ghana dismissed at the time as baseless.
