The immigration department refused more than 20,000 visa applications from foreign nationals who applied to come to Canada for the FIFA World Cup, official figures show.

Canada played host to 13 games in Toronto and Vancouver in June and July, issuing 26,000 visas to visitors, including people invited by FIFA to work at the tournament.

However, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada refused another 20,845 visa applications related to the tournament. It refused an additional 205 electronic travel authorizations for visa-exempt foreign nationals.

Among the refused visa applications were 3,135 from Ghanaian fans. IRCC approved only 470 visas for Ghanaians, whose national team played Panama on June 17 in Toronto.

According to IRCC figures disclosed earlier this month to The Globe and Mail, 25 people from Ghana who flagged “FIFA World Cup 26” on their visitor visa applications have since claimed asylum in Canada, the highest of any country.

In all, 175 people whose visitor visa applications cited the World Cup have claimed asylum in Canada.

According to new data provided to The Globe, the department refused applications from 1,965 Nigerians who wanted to come to Canada for the international soccer tournament, which Canada co-hosted with the United States and Mexico. Only 220 Nigerian fans who applied for visas were approved to come here for the World Cup.

Before the World Cup, IRCC warned ticketholders that they could be refused visas or turned away by border agents if there was a fear that they may not return home after the tournament ended.

The department has said that it closely scrutinized visa applications to prevent people from entering the country with the aim of claiming asylum.

Toronto immigration lawyer Stephen Green said Canada’s immigration officers would have closely vetted applications, including to see if applicants had enough money to support themselves while they were here.

“They were checking for whether or not someone would leave at the end of their proposed visit,” he added.

Templar Kalundu Iga, director of policy and global strategy at the Canadian Centre for African Affairs and Policy Research, said the comparatively high volumes of visa applications from Nigeria and Ghana were not surprising, with both being major footballing nations.

But he said there was a “pronounced disparity between approvals and refusals,” noting that 90 per cent of applications from Nigeria were declined and 87 per cent from Ghana.

“The World Cup could have been used to deepen our understanding of African tourism, diaspora mobility and investment flows, while connecting immigration policy to the objectives of Canada’s Africa Strategy,” he said in an e-mail. “Instead, the data risk presenting African mobility principally through the language of immigration risk.”

On July 7, Vancouver hosted a World Cup match between Colombia and Switzerland. Canada approved visitor visas for 1,795 Colombians, while refusing 815. All 210 Swiss fans who came to Canada for the World Cup with electronic travel authorizations were permitted to enter the country.

Among Senegalese fans, whose national team played Iraq in Toronto on June 26, 310 were refused visas and 60 were approved to come here.

The Ivory Coast played Germany in Toronto at the FIFA tournament. Ninety Ivory Coast fans who applied to come to Canada had their visas refused, with 35 approvals.

Many of the 175 refugee claims made so far from World Cup visitors were from foreign nationals whose teams did not participate in the soccer tournament. They include 15 individuals from Kenya, 10 from China, 10 from Bangladesh, 10 from Nigeria and five each from Burundi, Nepal and Pakistan.

Pakistan and India, whose team also did not play, had far more visitor visa refusals than approvals, the IRCC figures show, with 2,245 Pakistani nationals denied applications to come here for the World Cup, and 195 approved. For Indian nationals, almost 2,000 were refused, while 665 were approved.

Canada also refused applications from 805 nationals of Bangladesh, while approving visas for 120 Bangladeshi soccer fans.

There were 50 applications for visitor visas from Sierra Leone, none of which were approved. Seventy-five applications from fans from Burundi were refused, with five approved.

The IRCC figures cover applications for the World Cup made between Nov. 14, 2025, and May 31, 2026. They show that all of the 2,795 applications from people invited by FIFA, such as referees and others working at the tournament, were approved.

Despite Mexico’s status as a fellow tournament co-host, 440 of its fans who applied for visitor visas were refused entry to Canada, with 285 approved.

In 2024, Ottawa reimposed visa requirements for many Mexicans visiting Canada following a sharp rise in asylum claims from that country, most of which Canada rejected.

Almost 1,000 Egyptians applied for visas to come to Canada for the World Cup. Egypt played New Zealand in the group stage in Vancouver on June 21. Immigration officials approved 475 visa applications from Egyptian fans. They refused 615.

Eighty-five soccer fans from Gaza and the West Bank were refused entry on visitor visas, with 15 approved to enter Canada to watch the World Cup.

Canada admitted 2,005 Panamanian nationals via electronic travel authorizations, refusing 40. Another 170 visitor visas were issued to Panamanian nationals and 80 refused. Panama played Croatia in Toronto on June 23.

Ecuador did not play any of its World Cup matches in Canada, but 600 Ecuadorian fans applied to come here for the tournament, of whom 400 had visitor visas approved and 200 refused.

Immigration department refused more than 20,000 visas from World Cup fans