West African Nations' Bold World Cup Co-Hosting Dream Revealed!
Ghana's Minister of Sports and Recreation, Kofi Adams, believes Ghana, Nigeria, and Côte d’Ivoire could jointly host a future FIFA World Cup. Citing FIFA's trend of multi-country hosting and the nations' recent tournament experience, Adams sees potential for a West African bid, albeit as a long-term goal.
Ghana’s Minister of Sports and Recreation, Kofi Adams, has expressed a strong belief that Ghana, Nigeria, and Côte d’Ivoire possess the potential to jointly host the prestigious FIFA World Cup in the future. Adams cited the evolving trend in FIFA's hosting decisions, where multiple nations are increasingly sharing the responsibilities of staging the global football spectacle, as a key factor supporting this ambition for the West African trio.
The Minister highlighted recent precedents set by FIFA, noting the 2026 World Cup's multi-country arrangement involving the United States, Canada, and Mexico. Furthermore, he pointed to the upcoming 2030 tournament, which will be co-hosted by Morocco, Spain, and Portugal, as clear evidence that joint hosting has become an established and acceptable model for the international football governing body. Adams articulated his hope, stating, “They [FIFA] are beginning to adopt several nations doing it, so maybe who knows, the next one would be Ghana, Nigeria, and then Côte d’Ivoire coming together to also host the World Cup and it will be good.”
Beyond the organizational model, Adams also emphasized the significant sporting infrastructure and recent experience in hosting major tournaments within these three countries. He specifically mentioned Côte d’Ivoire's successful hosting of the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) and Ghana's staging of the delayed 2023 African Games in 2024. These experiences, coupled with substantial investments in sporting facilities, position them favorably for a potential joint bid. He added, “I believe that we, together with Nigeria and Côte d’Ivoire, who have already invested quite a lot because they hosted AFCON not too long ago, we can also ask for that right.”
Despite this optimistic outlook and the compelling rationale, Adams acknowledged that such a joint World Cup bid would necessarily remain a long-term aspiration. This is due to the fact that the FIFA World Cups for 2026, 2030, and 2034 have already been officially assigned to other host nations or groups of nations, meaning any bid from Ghana, Nigeria, and Côte d’Ivoire would target a tournament beyond this current planning horizon.