Don’t let the 2026 World Cup become a deportation story

As excitement builds ahead of the upcoming FIFA World Cup, many Ghanaians are already preparing to travel abroad, particularly to the United States, which remains the most preferred destination for many prospective travellers. But beneath the excitement lies a serious national concern that Ghanaian authorities cannot afford to ignore.

Recent events involving Ghanaian migrants in South Africa should serve as a strong warning to policymakers, immigration authorities, and the general public. Ghana recently evacuated hundreds of its citizens from South Africa following xenophobic tensions and attacks reportedly linked to undocumented migration and economic frustrations.

Media reports quoted South African immigration officials as indicating that only a small number of some of the returnees (10 out of the first batch of 300) had valid legal residency status. Whether entirely accurate or not, the public narrative that emerged was damaging, foreigners were being portrayed as contributing to illegal migration pressures and straining local systems.

This situation should prompt urgent reflection in Ghana, especially as another major international event approaches.

Historically, global sporting events often lead to spikes in temporary travel, visa overstays, and irregular migration attempts. Some travellers enter legally but remain beyond the duration permitted under their visas. Others attempt to use tourism opportunities as pathways to undocumented residence or unauthorized work.

Under Section 212(a)(9)(B) of the U.S. Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), a person who overstays a visa and accumulates more than 180 days of unlawful presence before leaving the United States may face a three-year ban from re-entry, while an unlawful stay exceeding one year may result in a ten-year re-entry ban.

These provisions have existed since reforms introduced in the late 1990s, but today they are enforced within a far more advanced immigration environment characterised by stronger border controls, biometric tracking systems, digital data sharing, and stricter visa compliance monitoring.

Agencies such as U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) now play a more visible and active role in immigration enforcement, including the identification, detention, and removal of individuals who violate immigration laws.

As a result, visa overstays and immigration violations now carry far greater risks than in previous decades, with long-term consequences for future travel, education, employment, and immigration opportunities in the United States.

Although immigration enforcement priorities may vary between administrations, there is broad bipartisan support in the United States for stricter border controls and stronger immigration compliance measures. Many analysts expect enforcement under a renewed Trump-era policy direction to become even tougher.

Also, whereas is it difficult to point to any evidence of the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa, directly creating the current immigration challenges in South Africa, the tournament period highlighted existing tensions around migration, undocumented residency, unemployment, and xenophobia.

It also demonstrated how major international sporting events can intensify public anxieties about migration and border management, especially in contexts of economic hardship and social inequality.

For Ghanaian travellers, this means the risks today are far greater than many may assume. This is why Ghanaian state institutions must intensify proactive public communication immediately.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ghana Immigration Service, National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE), and the Ministry of Information should collaborate on a national public awareness campaign targeted at prospective travellers ahead of the World Cup period. The objective should not be to discourage regular migration, rather, the goal should be to ensure that citizens fully understand the legal implications of violating immigration laws abroad.

The campaign should explain, in simple and practical language: what constitutes a visa overstay; the consequences of illegal stay; how deportation records affect future travel; the dangers of undocumented work abroad; the financial and emotional risks of detention; and how immigration violations can damage Ghana’s international image.

Importantly, communication should target young people directly through platforms they actively use, including TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, X, radio discussions, YouTube, and community-based media.

Many young Africans today are heavily influenced by social media narratives that often glamorize life abroad while hiding the legal and emotional realities of undocumented migration. Clear, accessible, and consistent communication from official sources can help counter this misinformation.

The call for public education should not rest on Ghanaian authorities alone. The United States Embassy in Ghana also has an important role to play. To its credit, the US Embassy in Ghana through a recent media engagement highlighted the importance of complying with U.S. immigration laws and respecting the duration of stay granted at ports of entry.

However, there is still a strong case for a broader and more sustained public education campaign. Such efforts could include targeted social media content, radio and television discussions, multilingual public awareness messages, and collaborations with Ghanaian authorities to ensure that prospective travellers fully understand the legal and long-term consequences of unlawful stay in the United States.

Short videos, survivor testimonies, infographics, and multilingual radio campaigns could be far more effective than formal press engagements alone.

Beyond individual consequences, illegal migration patterns also affect Ghana’s international reputation. When large numbers of nationals violate visa conditions abroad, it can contribute to stricter scrutiny for future legitimate travellers, students, businesspeople, athletes, researchers, and tourists from Ghana.

In extreme cases, countries may tighten visa issuance processes or increase refusal rates for entire national groups perceived to pose higher overstay risks. This is why migration communication must now be treated not only as a border issue, but also as a strategic public policy and national reputation issue.

The scenes from South Africa should remind us of an important lesson: reactive diplomacy is often far more costly than preventive public education. Evacuating distressed citizens, responding to detention crises, or managing diplomatic tensions after migration problems emerge places pressure on governments, embassies, and taxpayers alike.

A well-coordinated public communication strategy today could prevent many future problems tomorrow.