Even as we wait for a few matches like Champions League and Europa League to sum up this season 2018-19, all our attention have been shifted to the African Cup of Nation (AFCON).
Arguably, it is the major tournament that every eye will be watching right after the completion of this season’s matches.
And now, many are only contemplating on which team will lift the trophy at long last. One team that has been hitting the headlines is Ghana. The Black Stars have won the competition four times and have a big chance of lifting it for the fifth time.
The West African team has made several changes to their squad set to feature this year for Africa’s elite competition. Most notable is the change of captain.
The head coach Kwesi Appiah earlier on announced that Andrew Ayew will be the one to lead the team this year, stripping the former captain Asamoah Gyan of his role.
This decision sparked a mixed reaction and even saw Gyan shortly retire from the national team.
It had to take the intervention of Ghana’s president Nana Akuffo Addo to calm the already heated situation. He called on the two players together with the coach and their talk yielded fruits.
After the meeting at The Jubilee House this how the new black stars will look like
Dede Ayew- Captain
Asamoah Gyan – General Captain
Kwasi Appiah- Coach
President Nana Akuffo Addo- General Coach.😂😂😂😂#bolgasmfanbase pic.twitter.com/K1ZaPSsW3B— @BOLGA SM FAN BASE ♦️ C.E.O (@JahblessMyHussl) May 22, 2019
After a long conversation between the stakeholders, it was concluded that Andre Ayew will take over as new captain with Kwadwo Asamoah as the deputy captain.
Gyan who had captained the team for a period of 7 years was elevated to the role of ‘General Captain.’
OFFICIAL: Andre Ayew named new Ghana captain, with Kwadwo Asamoah as his deputy. Legend Asamoah Gyan "elevated" to role of "General Captain", following his return from a 41-hour retirement which was inspired by a dissatisfaction with the same role. #XtraLive #Afcon2019 pic.twitter.com/PWUPTC1WCy
— Fiifi Anaman (@fiifianaman) May 24, 2019
After the talk, the ‘General Captain’ pledged his allegiance to the new captain insisting on his unflinching support for the new skipper.
Asamoah-Gyan-Pledges-Allegiance-To-Andre-Ayew-Congratulates-New-Ghana-Captain https://t.co/Al6dPgIeHR pic.twitter.com/YllgKnDxgo
— Peace FM Online (@peacefmonline) May 26, 2019
The mediation effort had not to go unrewarded. President Nana Akuffo Ado successfully played the role of the general coach.
Now we can conclude that Ghana is going to be represented with two captains and two coaches.
Will the Black Stars take advantage of the formidable leadership to clinch this year’s AFCON trophy?