Thomas Partey will miss Ghana’s opening match of the 2026 World Cup against Panama after being denied entry to Canada.
Ghana start their World Cup campaign on Wednesday in Toronto, but Partey, 32, will not be present after the Canadian government denied his visa application. Partey has been charged with seven counts of rape and one count of sexual assault by London’s Metropolitan Police and is awaiting trial. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges and a trial has been set for November this year, although it could be delayed until 2027.
A statement from FIFA — first published by The Athletic — read: “FIFA can confirm that player Thomas Partey will be unable to travel from Ghana’s team base camp in Boston, USA, to Canada for their first match against Panama on Wednesday, 17 June, as his visa application has been refused by the Canadian government.
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“FIFA is not involved in the immigration processes of host countries, including the adjudication of visas. As with previous FIFA events, the host government ultimately determines who receives a visa and is admitted into the country.”
Partey played for Arsenal from 2020 to 2025 and is currently at Villarreal. He has 57 caps for Ghana and featured in their last warmup match against Wales on June 2. But as the team prepare to travel from their Rhode Island base to Canada, Partey will not be joining them. ESPN has contacted the Ghana Football Association for comment.
It was confirmed last month that Partey’s trial on rape charges originally set for November at Southwark Crown Court had been pushed back to start on June 8, 2027.
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Partey has appeared previously in the dock to plead not guilty to all charges and is on bail during the legal proceedings, with a condition that he does not contact alleged victims.
The next hearing in his case has been set for Oct. 2.
