Old Tafo MP Vincent Ekow Assafuah has demanded a full financial account of the World Cup Bonanza and the subsequent government-backed World Cup raffle, questioning how much money was collected and what happened to the prizes promised to participants.

Assafuah said the National Lottery Authority (NLA), Ghana Football Association (GFA), Rambell Lotteries and the Ministry of Sports and Recreation must explain the financial arrangements behind the two initiatives.

He recalled that the first World Cup Bonanza was launched on November 4, 2025, by the GFA, NLA and Rambell, with Ghanaians asked to pay Ghc10 per entry through the short code *899#.

The organisers reportedly promised that 220 supporters would receive fully sponsored trips to the 2026 FIFA World Cup, including flights, accommodation, match tickets and visa assistance.

However, Assafuah said a second raffle was launched on March 18, 2026, just 12 days after the reported final draw of the first initiative on March 6.

The second initiative, known as the Ghana 2026 FIFA World Cup Raffle, was launched at the Ministry of Finance and promoted by the government. President John Dramani Mahama also joined its launch on March 23.

Assafuah argued that the President’s involvement gave the initiative additional credibility and encouraged ordinary Ghanaians to participate.

“When the First Gentleman of the land, the President of the Republic, mounts a platform to endorse a raffle, what is the ordinary Ghanaian supposed to think? Ghanaians trusted it because Mahama himself gave it presidential approval,” he said.

The MP said the organisers had yet to provide adequate information about ticket sales, revenue, prize costs and the number of winners who actually travelled to the tournament.

He also questioned the Ministry of Sports and Recreation’s handling of 2,922 group-stage tickets it reportedly purchased with public funds.

According to Assafuah, the Sports Minister told 3FM on July 14, after Ghana’s World Cup exit, that some of the tickets had been allocated to raffle winners and that the names of beneficiaries would be published.

The MP cited a report in which the minister was quoted as saying that tickets had been distributed to recognised supporter unions, public raffle winners and Ghanaians living in the United States and Canada through Ghana’s diplomatic missions.

However, Assafuah claimed that raffle winners he had spoken to said they had not received any tickets from the ministry.

He said the promised list of beneficiaries had still not been published three months later, leaving questions about how the tickets were distributed and who benefited from them.

“The central question this corrupt and deceptive government must answer: What happened to the 220 slots you announced with fanfare? Was it a lie from day one? Or was it a deliberate criminal scheme by state institutions to steal from suffering Ghanaians?” he asked.

Assafuah wants the organisers to publish the official draw procedures, dates, full records of the winners and the total amount raised through both raffles.

He has also called for the publication of the first Bonanza’s ticket sales, prize fund and Good Causes transfers, as well as the second raffle’s revenue and any surplus paid into the Ghana Sports Fund.

The MP further wants the government to disclose how many of the 2,922 publicly funded match tickets went to raffle winners and whether those tickets were used.

He has called on the Auditor-General to conduct a special audit of both raffles and the World Cup Fund, while urging Parliament’s Youth and Sports Committee to take evidence on the initiatives.

Assafuah also wants the government to compensate Ghanaians who paid to participate but did not receive the travel packages they were promised.