Ghana disputes World Cup fans' Brazil asylum bid
Ghana sent an official delegation of about 650 fans to Brazil
Ghana's government has said the country has no religious violence, after 200 Ghanaian World Cup fans asked for asylum in Brazil.
The fans said they were Muslims fleeing religious conflict, according to Brazilian police.
The group are believed to be part of a government-sponsored delegation, mainly comprising supporters of the governing party.
Ghana is seen as one of West Africa's most peaceful and prosperous countries.
"The basis for this alleged request is completely false as no religious conflict is taking place in Ghana," said a statement from Deputy Information Minister Felix Kwakye Ofosu.
"Ghana's mission in Brazil has been instructed to liaise with the Brazilian authorities to investigate the matter," he said.
Ghana went home without a win and failed to qualify for the knockout stage of the World Cup
They have filed their applications in the southern city of Caxias do Sul, in one of Brazil's most prosperous areas.
The Brazilian authorities believe many of the Ghanaians are looking for the right to work legally in the country.
"This region - Serra Gaucha - is known as an area of full employment. It has became a magnet for foreign workers," federal police chief Noerci da Silva Melo said in Caxias do Sul.
"You go through the streets and you can see many Haitians and Senegalese selling pirate CDs and watches. The area is overcrowded now," Mr Melo told the news agency Agencia Brasil.
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