ACCRA, GHANA – Accra-based football fans and sports bodies have issued a harsh rebuke to FIFA and the US government on their ‘failure to Africa’ due to visa restrictions and excessive ticket costs. The sharp criticism follows rising concerns among observers that the approaching competition is turning into a ‘World Cup of the One Per cent’.
According to reports, African fans seem to have difficulty obtaining visas to attend the games. As one Ridwan Issah from the Nationwide Supporters Union pointed out, “If you look at the visa process issue, it is we, the Africans, who are having trouble getting the visa to support our country. So for us, [they] failed us.” Similarly, the local football coach, Abraham Nkansah, remarked that fans from countries like Ivory Coast, Senegal and South Africa were the worst affected.
The financial constraints are proving similarly impossible to overcome. According to Veronica Commey, Deputy Director-General of Ghana’s National Sports Authority, the complaints of high costs continue unabated. “They keep talking about ticket prices… even the people living there, the Americans themselves, plus people all around the world, keep complaining that this is quite expensive,” she observed, emphasising the unique void that will exist due to the absence of fans.
The US State Department has sought to justify itself by explaining that individual cases are scrutinised before any visas are issued, while the FIFA representative described the demand for tickets as being ‘absolutely crazy’. But considering that visa refusal rates have exceeded 40% for several competing countries, it is believed by locals that there are deliberate attempts to exclude Africans from attending.
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