The United States Embassy in Accra is set to deepen its sports diplomacy with Ghana through a new Sports Envoy programme that will bring two American professional athletes and coaches to the country to train coaches of female student-athletes.
The programme, scheduled for September, will feature Ghanaian-American athlete and coach Kofi Sarkodie, alongside another U.S. professional, according to the Chargé d’Affaires of the U.S. Embassy in Accra, Rolf Olson.
The announcement came at a World Cup Coverage Debrief session held by the embassy in Accra, which brought together journalists and content creators who had covered the 2026 FIFA World Cup, including Garyl Alsmith of Sporty Group, Michael Oti Agyei of Media General Limited, Monica Bukari, a broadcast journalist; content creator Joshua Boye-Doe (also known as Kaly Jay), Razak Musbau of Joy News, Ernest Bako of B&FT and others.
Participants shared their experiences, including the excitement of covering the tournament in the United States and Ghana.
The session followed a media training the embassy had organised for the group ahead of the tournament, part of what Olson described as the embassy’s “Year of the World Cup” programming.
Sports diplomacy
Mr. Olson said the Sports Envoy programme formed part of efforts to expand sports diplomacy in Ghana by using sport to strengthen people-to-people relations while creating opportunities for skills development and cultural exchange.
The two Sports Envoys will lead a two-day training programme for high school coaches of female student-athletes in the Northern, Ashanti and Greater Accra regions over a two-week period in September.
Mr. Olson said sports diplomacy was valuable because sport offered powerful stories of teamwork, resilience and national pride while creating opportunities for economic engagement and cultural exchange.
“To me, the best part about sports diplomacy is the stories of teamwork, resilience, and national pride,” he said.
He said the 2026 FIFA World Cup had demonstrated once again how football could bring people from different countries and cultures together.
Mr. Olson, a native of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, said he enjoyed seeing Ghanaian supporters visiting the city during the tournament and experiencing its culture and historic landmarks.
He cited the Liberty Bell, where an exhibition features a historic photograph taken on March 6, 1957, Ghana’s Independence Day, as an example of the historical connections between Ghana and the United States.
Media training
Mr. Olson said the embassy was pleased that the journalists and content creators had applied skills acquired during its pre-tournament media training to their World Cup coverage.
He said the debrief provided an opportunity to assess their experiences, identify challenges and discuss lessons that could improve future coverage.
“Since then, each of you have put those skills to use by helping bring the excitement of the FIFA World Cup in 2026 to audiences across Ghana through your reporting, commentary, and excellent social media content,” he said.
Visa applications increase
Mr. Olson also disclosed that the U.S. Embassy had expanded its capacity to process non-immigrant visa applications ahead of the World Cup.
Additional consular personnel were deployed from U.S. embassies and consulates around the world between January and June 2026.
The embassy subsequently processed 38,000 non-immigrant visa applications during the first six months of 2026, compared with 24,000 during the same period in 2025.
Mr. Olson said the additional capacity was primarily intended to facilitate World Cup travel while ensuring that people travelling for business, family and tourism could continue to access visa services.
He said the increased staffing also reduced visitor-visa interview waiting times to a few weeks at the height of the exercise.
Looking beyond the World Cup
Mr. Olson said the United States would continue using sport to strengthen relations with Ghana, particularly as the country prepares to host the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games in Los Angeles.
He said the Ghanaian diaspora in the United States remained an important link between the two countries, helping to promote cultural and commercial engagement.
He encouraged journalists and content creators to continue using their platforms to tell stories that connect Ghana, the United States and the wider world through sport.
The Sports Envoy programme is expected to build on these ties by combining sports development, professional training and cultural exchange while creating new opportunities for coaches and young female athletes.
Discipline key to journalism
As a key takeaway from the discussion, Mr. Al-Smith stressed discipline as essential to achieving excellence in journalism.
“Discipline. Discipline, discipline, discipline,” he said, urging journalists who aspire to operate at a world-class level to take their profession seriously and be prepared to make the necessary sacrifices.
He cautioned practitioners against becoming distracted by social activities and comfort at the expense of their professional responsibilities.
“The job is not a joke,” he said, warning against complacency and stressing that journalists could not achieve outstanding results while remaining overly comfortable.
Mr. Oti-Adjei, a Senior Sports journalist, also urged practitioners covering major sporting events to understand their working environment, establish effective systems and know their professional rights.
He expressed concern about journalists becoming distracted during assignments through excessive social interaction and mobile-phone use, urging them to remain focused, disciplined and professional.
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