Filmmaker and former Executive Secretary of Ghana’s National Film Authority, Juliet Yaa Asantewaa Asante, has written about Ghana’s apparent failure to leverage the global spotlight of the 2026 FIFA World Cup to promote tourism, arts and culture.
She did this in a sarcastic Facebook post that has sparked conversations about nation branding and tourism promotion.
In the lengthy post, Juliet painted a picture of an ideal Ghana that strategically used its qualification for the World Cup to showcase its culture, tourism, creative industries and investment opportunities to a global audience.
“There was this country called Ghana,” she began, before describing how the country supposedly mobilised government agencies, the tourism sector, creatives and entrepreneurs to maximise the tournament’s visibility.
According to her fictional account, Ghana turned its participation into a coordinated national branding exercise, using football as a platform to promote everything from music, film and fashion to food, investment and exports.
“The target was to use the spotlight. The target was to use a moment on the world stage to showcase a country,” she wrote.
Juliet imagined a scenario where every aspect of Ghana’s World Cup presence was deliberately crafted to tell a national story. She highlighted cultural symbols such as Ananse and the Black Star, and envisioned players arriving at the tournament draped in kente from different regions of the country, adorned with Ghanaian-made accessories and products.
“The Ministry of Tourism was put at the center of the effort. Music, film, fashion, art, food and the entire creative sector came together under a coordinated national agenda,” she stated.
She added that Ghana could have used the tournament to spotlight local filmmakers, musicians, entrepreneurs and investors while promoting products such as cocoa and shea butter.
Credit: myjoyonline.com
