Photo Credit: X.
Former Ghana international Charles Akonnor has blamed successive Football Association bosses for their poor handling of the chronic captaincy issue.
The armband saga believed to have started at the 1992 Africa Cup of Nations in Sénégal between James Kwesi Appiah and Abedi Ayew “Pele”, has continued to eat up the four time African champions until date.
Akonnor, who took over from Abedi Pele, received his fair share of the axe with Samuel Osei Kuffour and Stephen Appiah all suffering similar fate. Former Sunderland striker Asamoah Gyan and current captain Andre Ayew were once embroiled in Ghana’s captaincy battle fueling reports of disaffection between the two.
The subject raised its ugly head one more time when Black Stars coach Otto Addo shuffled the armband between Jordan Ayew and Mohammed Kudus during their failed 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying campaign last year.
The 50-year-old Akonnor who played in four AFCONs in 1994, 1996, 1998 and 2000 and captained the side in 1998 and 2000 asserts that previous FA president’s failed to handle the captaincy matter well.
“The fact is, if you look back and that doesn’t go this FA, there have been different FAs. They’ve not handled situations well. If you look at almighty Abedi Pele, how he was treated, how myself was treated as a captain. I was dropped out of the squad. I think it’s not about Asamoah Gyan, I think you need to look at it from a different perspective,” Akonnor told Radio Gold Sports.
“When somebody comes and serves with all his heart and everything, he has to go off one day but how he goes off is also another issue. And we have not done well in that area, not just this current administration but the past ones and so we have to look at it and then handle it very well,” added Akonnor.
There are reports that, Le Havre forward, Andre Ayew will return to lead the Black Stars in the 2026 FIFA World Cup which resumes in March against Chad. Andre last played for the Black Stars in March, 2024.
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