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Thomas Partey interacts with children on a soccer pitch at Bryant University on Saturday. Children's faces have been blurred to respect privacy and ensure anonymity. Sahara Football
A day after The Athletic broke the news that Canada had denied Thomas Partey a visa on the basis of “maintaining safety and security”, the Ghana midfielder was filmed interacting with children during a community event on Saturday at Bryant University in Smithfield, Rhode Island.
Partey, formerly of Arsenal and now at Spanish side Villarreal, was charged with five counts of rape and one count of sexual assault relating to three women in July 2025 by London’s Metropolitan Police. In September last year, he pleaded not guilty.
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He was charged with two new counts of rape in February this year, relating to a fourth woman, to which he pleaded not guilty in April. His lawyer, Jenny Wiltshire of Hickman and Rose, said in a statement that her client welcomes “the opportunity to finally clear his name”.
The Ghana national team have been based at Bryant University campus, an official FIFA training base camp during the World Cup, since Friday after arriving from Washington D.C. The Athletic has visited the campus and spoken to people on-site to be able to report:
It is a jarring juxtaposition that highlights how complicated safeguarding decisions can be in situations such as Partey’s where he has not been convicted of anything and strongly insists he is innocent. U.S. immigration has granted him a visa to enter the country but Canada made a different decision.
Partey has denied all the charges against him and his trial was originally scheduled for November, but may now be delayed until early 2027. Under the conditions of his bail, Partey is obliged to notify authorities of any plans to travel abroad.
“As an Official Team Base Camp training site selected by FIFA, Bryant provides practice facilities and access to training, recovery, and sports medicine spaces, within a private and secure area of campus athletic facilities,” read a university statement given to The Athletic on Saturday.
“All team activities are taking place as part of a highly coordinated security approach with FIFA World Cup 2026 officials, Rhode Island State Police, local police and outside security.
“These enhanced security measures have been planned for months and are in place starting this weekend, prioritizing the safety and security of all groups on campus. We are aware of the legal charges facing a member of Team Ghana in a London court, which became public months after Bryant was announced as a base camp host. We look forward to continuing to work closely with FIFA, State Police and other security officials to support a safe and secure World Cup 2026.”
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The Athletic was told by one university official, upon condition of anonymity — like others in this piece — because they were not authorised to speak publicly, that Partey’s status had been considered when deciding whether to host Ghana but it was decided the team could be kept in a bubble as the team bus would drop them off in an enclosed building and he would not come into contact with students.
The Ghana Football Association announced its training camp on February 26 this year and Partey was first charged in July 2025, with the additional charges added on February 12 this year. The university did not respond to questions about this discrepancy in the timeline by the time of publication, and did not respond when asked about what safeguarding procedures were in place for the community event and whether parents were told about the charges facing Partey and that he would be present.
Partey, who turned 33 on Saturday, was denied a Canadian visa last week, ruling him out of Ghana’s first World Cup game against Panama in Toronto on Wednesday. He is eligible to play in Ghana’s remaining Group L fixtures against England at Gillette Stadium (Boston) on June 23 and Croatia at Lincoln Financial Field (Philadelphia) on June 27.
FIFA and the Ghana FA did not respond for a request for comment, while Bryant University did not add anything further to its initial statement.
Snaking through the parking lot of Bryant University campus, the Ghana national team bus carrying Partey arrived at Beirne Stadium, the building that will serve as their base camp for the next three weeks.
But while the rest of the squad will head to Toronto on Tuesday, Partey will remain in the team’s Providence hotel, Graduate by Hilton.
That is where they arrived from on Friday for their first training session at Bryant University, amid tight security, backed by ten 4×4 vehicles, police cars and motorbikes.
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It was a silent cavalcade. The siren lights were on but no alarm sounded. Meanwhile, a teenage girl passed by, seemingly oblivious to the new guests as she walked across the car park towards the Track and Turf Complex to a hockey event.
Parents dropped their kids off at car parks, some at C and D which were inside the the off-limits zone, and, an hour later, as Ghana’s players could be heard training behind the covered pitch, a line of about 50 girls in their early teens made their way past the Ghana base and onto the same hockey pitch a couple of hundred yards to the right.
“Bryant University is honored to welcome the Ghana Men’s National Team and to serve as its training base for the FIFA World Cup 2026,” said Bryant President Dr. Ross Gittell when the initial announcement was made in February. “We look forward to the partnerships, the visibility, and the enthusiasm that this opportunity will bring to Rhode Island, New England, and well beyond.”
The typical headcount of just under 4,000 students at the 428-acre campus is down to about 150 as classes are not running across the summer but next year’s freshmen were on site in the week and there are summer camps coming and going from the pitch a stone’s throw away from where Ghana train.
Many are high school girls attending College Connection Showcase, a programme that provides what is described on the organisation’s website as “superior visibility” to the collegiate coaching community. It is sold out and continued over the weekend.
The Athletic asked College Connection Showcase if it was aware of Partey and Ghana’s presence at the university. It did not respond.
Two of the assistant coaches The Athletic spoke to on Friday were not aware that Ghana and Partey were present and the charges he is facing.
“I feel that’s weird. Maybe they should tell people,” said one. “Talking to the other counsellors (coaches), not a lot of people knew about the allegations. Some people weren’t even aware Ghana was on campus until they got there.”
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“I had no clue that was happening. But they have done a good job keeping us locked away,” said another. “We’re not allowed to go over there. On our camp (info) packs and info for staff, we are not supposed to be in this whole area for the weekend. All of the campers here have to walk from place to place with a coach like us (like we do).”
The Athletic was shown a map highlighting the off-limit areas where Ghana are training (which reads Beirne Stadium in an orange box). It also shows the close proximity of the two pitches either side (circled yellow).
On Friday, the off-limits areas did not appear to be being enforced with dozens of school girls walking unattended across the car park area, including the section inside the off-limits area.
To walk between the Track and Turf Complex and the Athletic Field, girls and their coaches passed behind Ghana’s training field, which was behind a metal chain-link fence and dark but see-through mesh sheeting.
Inside the entrance to the base, the walls were plastered with Black Stars flags and motivational messages. ‘Here to Stay’, ‘For Love & Country’, ‘The Time is Now’ and a vinyl sticker on the wall which read ‘Welcome to the Doghouse’.
It is Bryant University’s nickname and their visible branding around the training camp led to Partey’s locker being positioned underneath two big stickers on the changing room wall which outlined their values: ‘Leadership. Discipline.’
The university sent a photographer to capture the arrival of the Ghana bus, which one staff member said was one of the top ten biggest moments in the university’s 160-year history. Partey was also filming his team-mates at a welcome event in a video posted on X on Thursday.
Talent on and off the pitch! – Ladies and Gentlemen, Thomas Teye Partey. pic.twitter.com/Pa9EKWq4tj
— DEK360Ghana🇬🇭 (@Dek360Ghana) June 12, 2026
On Friday, Partey trained as normal and appeared relaxed as he laughed and joked with team-mates during 15 minutes of open training.
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When The Athletic asked him how he felt about being denied entry to Canada he replied by saying “What is it? I don’t know”.
The government of Ghana said on Saturday it intends to pursue legal action before Canada’s federal court against the “extremely unfair” decision to deny Partey entry to the country.
The Ghana government statement said the ruling is “understood to be based on pending criminal proceedings in the United Kingdom that have not resulted in any conviction or judicial finding of guilt”.
In a statement on Friday, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada said: “Canada has been consistent that hosting major events does not change Canada’s immigration laws. Every person seeking to come to Canada is assessed individually, based on the facts available and the law that applies.”
Officials present from Ghana’s FA declined to speak.
On Saturday, Bryant University hosted a “Community Day”. In footage reviewed by The Athletic, Partey can be seen interacting with girls in pink shirts while a group of boys watch on. He then appears to leave the pitch while some his team-mates take part in a Q&A with the children.
“A huge thank you to the Ghana Black Stars for taking time to engage with members of the Bryant community, fans across the globe, and local youth soccer groups. An evening filled with memories that will last a lifetime,” said a post on Bryant University’s Facebook page later on Saturday.
If Partey is restored to the Ghana team for their second game, back in the United States, then his first appearance of the World Cup will come against England at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro on June 23.
Until then, he will remain behind as his team-mates take to sport’s biggest stage.
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