The 2026 FIFA World Cup has given rise to an unintended and increasingly familiar phenomenon: a surge of asylum claims from visitors who entered Canada on tournament-related visas.

According to data from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), a total of 175 asylum claims have been lodged by World Cup visitors who received visas to attend matches in Toronto and Vancouver. Canada issued approximately 26,000 visas for the 13 games hosted in the country.

Ghana recorded the highest number of claims, with 25 Ghanaians seeking asylum after entering on visitor visas linked to the tournament. The Black Stars played their opening match against Panama in Toronto on June 17.

Other nations also saw significant numbers. Egypt recorded 15 claims, Senegal 10, and there were also claims from Kenya (15), Nigeria (10), China (10), Bangladesh (10), Burundi (5), Nepal (5), and Pakistan (5). Notably, many claims came from nationals whose countries did not even participate in the tournament—a pattern that underscores how major sporting events have become an unconventional migration route.

IRCC has cautioned that the final number could rise further as some visitors who overstay their visas may later pursue refugee status. The department confirmed that “as of July 20, 2026, of the 26,111 individuals with prior FIFA-related approved temporary residence applications, 175 people later submitted asylum claims”.

A Pattern Across Continents

The World Cup asylum surge is not an isolated incident. It reflects a growing trend observed at major international sporting events over the past two decades.

2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics – 22 Claims

When Canada last hosted a major global sporting event—the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver—22 people made refugee claims. According to Citizenship and Immigration Canada, claimants came from nine different countries, including Ghana, Hungary, Russia, Ukraine, and Nepal. Seven of them were members of the “Olympic family”—a designation that includes athletes, coaches, support staff, and officials.

The 2010 figures were remarkably low compared to the 1994 Commonwealth Games in Victoria, which generated 730 claims, and the 2001 Francophone Games in Ottawa-Hull, which saw more than 100 participants from 17 countries claim refugee status.

2012 London Olympics – 82 Claims

Two years later, the London Olympics produced a larger wave. A total of 82 athletes and officials sought asylum in the United Kingdom during the Games. According to AMES Australia, some claims were filed even before the opening ceremony. Of these, 52 were eventually granted refugee status.

Immigration officials at the time feared that up to 2 percent of Olympic visitors from certain regions might claim refuge in the UK. The cases included members of the Cameroonian and Congolese Olympic teams who went missing after the Games, citing mistreatment by their officials.

Earlier Precedents

The phenomenon dates back decades. During the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne, 26 athletes sought asylum. In 2011, 15 Ethiopian athletes disappeared from the All African Games in Mozambique. Even the 1948 London Olympics saw one of the earliest recorded asylum requests by someone associated with the Games.

Why Sporting Events Become Asylum Gateways

Experts point to several factors driving this trend.

Major international tournaments require host nations to issue thousands of visas to visitors, athletes, and officials—creating a rare window of opportunity for those seeking to escape conditions in their home countries. Host nations must balance the logistical demands of a global event against the integrity of their immigration systems.

Canada was well aware of this risk. Before the World Cup, IRCC warned ticketholders that they could be refused visas or turned away by border agents if there was concern they might not return home. The department closely scrutinized visa applications to prevent people from entering with the aim of claiming asylum. A number of Ghanaian applicants were reportedly denied visas on these grounds.

Yet the claims still came.

A Humanitarian and Policy Challenge

The asylum claims raise difficult questions for host nations. On one hand, they are obligated under international law to consider refugee claims from those who fear persecution in their home countries. On the other, the use of sporting events as a migration route strains immigration systems and fuels political debate over border control.

For those who file claims, the stakes are high. Athletes who seek asylum often sacrifice elite-level support and recognition in their home countries. For visitors and fans, it is a decision that comes with immense uncertainty—and the possibility of deportation if their claims are rejected.

As Canada deals with these 175 claims from the World Cup, it joins a growing list of host nations confronting the same reality: major sporting events are no longer just about competition, celebration, and national pride. They have become, for some, a path to a new life.

Bulldozers and military engineers have moved into some of Accra’s most flood-prone neighborhoods this week, demolishing homes, walls and bridges built illegally along waterways in a dramatic operation aimed at preventing a repeat of the devastating floods that recently claimed lives and destroyed property across Ghana’s capital.

The images are striking: heavy machinery tearing through concrete retaining walls, excavators scooping thick silt from the Tesa Dam, residents watching in silence as their homes come down, and military officers directing the operation under direct orders from President John Dramani Mahama.

The exercise, which began at New England behind Airport Hills and Mayfair Garden Estates, has since extended to the Tesa Dam in East Legon and Oyarifa. The Flood Mitigation Task Force, led by Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations Stan Xoese Dogbe and Minister for Works, Housing and Water Resources Kenneth Adjei, is carrying out the operation in phases with support from military engineers.

Tesa Dam: A Critical Waterway Restored

At the Tesa Dam, adjacent to Boundary Road in East Legon, the task force demolished unauthorised retaining walls and other structures built along the banks of the reservoir.

Officials say encroachment had narrowed the natural waterway, while years of siltation and indiscriminate dumping of plastic waste by squatters had drastically reduced the dam’s capacity to hold stormwater.

Before the demolition began, the commanding officer of the 48 Engineer Regiment, Lieutenant Colonel Frank Osei Amponsah, addressed affected residents, explaining that the operation was necessary to restore the watercourse. Occupants were given time to remove their belongings before the heavy equipment moved in.

Immediately after the demolitions, dredging began to remove thick silt deposits from the dam, which serves as a critical retention basin for floodwaters along the Motorway and surrounding communities.

‘The Problem Is Man-Made’

Speaking to journalists, the Coordinator of the Flood Mitigation Task Force, Brigadier General Forster Okae-Yeboah, said the crisis was entirely avoidable.

“The channel has been narrowed because people have built in this area. Water cannot flow freely to the holding area downstream. Since the channel is blocked, water backs up and floods the communities,” he explained.

He added that the exercise would not end with demolition:

“We will clear the debris, dredge the area, and create a buffer zone where no one will be allowed to build again. The assemblies will also be tasked to monitor and act immediately if anyone attempts to encroach.”

A Continuous Operation Under Presidential Orders

The Minister for Works, Housing and Water Resources, Kenneth Gilbert Adjei, disclosed that the operation would be a continuous one, under direct orders from the President.

“The President has directed that this should be an ongoing exercise. After the demolitions, we will continue dredging throughout the year so that whenever it rains, the water will have enough space. We will not allow the kind of flooding we recently experienced to happen again,” he stated.

Phased Approach Across Accra

The Tesa Dam operation followed similar exercises on Thursday at Oyarifa, where a developer had built an apartment block directly over a natural waterway, and around Mayfair Gardens, where a concrete-reinforced bridge constructed by residents was removed.

The task force says it will clear, desilt and restore all identified water channels in the current locations before moving to phase two, which will target Weija, Mallam and the Laboma area.

President John Dramani Mahama has invoked the painful memory of Africa’s struggle for COVID-19 vaccines as he urged the continent to accelerate local production of medicines and vaccines, declaring that the pandemic’s hard lessons must never be forgotten.

Speaking at the African Union Extraordinary Summit on Health in Accra, President Mahama recalled the deep inequities that defined the global pandemic response, when African nations were left behind as wealthier countries secured supplies.

“We all remember waiting in long queues while wealthier countries secured vaccines before Africa,” Mahama told the gathering of African heads of state, health ministers, and global health experts. “That painful experience taught us a lesson we must never forget.”

A Continent’s Vulnerability Exposed

The President’s remarks underscored the stark reality of Africa’s dependence on external suppliers. He noted that the continent still imports approximately 70 percent of its medicines, over 90 percent of its medical devices, and almost all of its vaccines—a vulnerability that COVID-19 laid bare in devastating detail.

“We all remember waiting in long queues while wealthier countries secured vaccines before Africa,” Mahama said. “That painful experience taught us a lesson we must never forget.”

The President argued that Africa must draw lasting lessons from the pandemic by investing in local production capacity to ensure the continent is better prepared to respond to future disease outbreaks and public health emergencies.

Ghana’s Ambitious Vaccine Agenda

Mahama highlighted Ghana’s strategic investments in vaccine production through the establishment of the Ghana Vaccine Institute, which forms part of broader efforts to improve Africa’s manufacturing capacity. The institute, led by CEO Dr. Sodzi-Sodzi Tettey, is working to build a credible and efficient clinical trials ecosystem essential for vaccine development and production.

“Ghana is equally investing in vaccine production through the Ghana Vaccine Institute to strengthen Africa’s manufacturing capacity,” Mahama said.

The urgency of Ghana’s shift from vaccine dependency to self-reliance is rooted in the hard lessons of the pandemic, which exposed stark global inequities in access to life-saving vaccines. For Ghana, delays in securing doses underscored a critical vulnerability: reliance on external supply in times of global crisis.

Building the Clinical Trials Ecosystem

In a significant step toward realizing this vision, Ghana has hosted a three-day Clinical Trials Assessment Workshop in Sogakope, organized by the World Health Organization (WHO) in collaboration with the National Vaccine Institute and supported by the European Union under the Vax & Pharm Ghana Project.

The workshop convened key institutions—including the Food and Drugs Authority, Ghana Health Service, ethics committees, academia, and clinical research institutions—to evaluate Ghana’s clinical trials landscape and align it with global standards.

“Strong clinical trials systems are the backbone of credible research and a critical pillar of Ghana’s vaccine production agenda,” said Dr Fiona Braka, WHO Representative to Ghana.

Dr. Sodzi-Sodzi Tettey, CEO of the National Vaccine Institute, emphasized the importance of the initiative: “Ghana’s ambition to manufacture vaccines and pharmaceuticals cannot be realized without a credible and efficient clinical trials ecosystem. This workshop is a key step toward building the systems, partnerships, and standards required to support that vision.”

A Framework for the Future

A major milestone of the workshop was the introduction of the draft WHO Clinical Trials Ecosystem Assessment Tool. Participants began adapting the tool to Ghana’s needs and developed a harmonized field assessment plan for a nationwide evaluation of clinical trial capacity. By the end of the three days, stakeholders had developed a draft national action plan to strengthen clinical trials governance and operations.

The European Union, which supported the workshop, reaffirmed its commitment:

“Our support to the Vax & Pharm Ghana Project reflects a shared commitment to strengthening local capacity. A robust clinical trials ecosystem ensures that Ghana’s innovations are not only locally produced but globally recognized.”

Progress Across the Continent

President Mahama expressed optimism about the progress already being made across Africa, noting that several countries were expanding vaccine manufacturing and strengthening scientific research.

“Today, we are witnessing encouraging progress as vaccine manufacturing expands across Africa,” he said. “New scientific capacity is emerging in Dakar, Cape Town, Kigali and many other parts of the continent.”

He noted that the Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Plan for Africa was steadily moving from policy aspirations to practical implementation, creating new opportunities for the continent to produce more of its own medicines and health products.

The AfCFTA and Economic Transformation

Mahama further linked healthcare manufacturing to the objectives of the African Continental Free Trade Area, saying the continental market provided an opportunity for African countries to build competitive pharmaceutical industries and strengthen regional trade.

“Through the African Continental Free Trade Area, health sovereignty also becomes a strategy for industrialisation, economic transformation and sustainable development,” he stated.

He stressed that building strong pharmaceutical value chains should not be viewed solely as a healthcare intervention but also as an economic strategy capable of driving industrial growth, innovation and employment.

“Building strong health value chains will create industries, laboratories, factories and quality jobs for millions of African youth,” President Mahama said.

A Vision for Health Sovereignty

President Mahama said Africa had reached a stage where it could no longer afford to remain dependent on external production for life-saving medicines and vaccines, particularly at a time when global health financing was declining and international supply chains remained vulnerable.

He urged African governments to increase investments in research, innovation, manufacturing infrastructure and regulatory systems to build a competitive pharmaceutical industry capable of serving the continent’s growing healthcare needs.

The President said achieving health sovereignty required African countries to move beyond importing finished products to developing complete pharmaceutical value chains that support research, production, quality assurance and distribution.