“The decision to give Mohammed Kudus the captaincy was premature” – Former GFA vice president Fred Pappoe

The moment Otto Addo decided to strip the captaincy away from Thomas Partey and give it to Kudus was the beginning of the end for the Black Stars.

Andre Ayew is the main captain for Ghana but was missing in action because he was club-less.

Thomas Partey was made the temporal skipper and his commitment was questioned by the head coach, therefore decided to decline call-ups.

In the absence of the Arsenal midfielder, Mohammed Kudus was made the captain, leading to much confusion in the playing body, with many Ghanaians suggesting that Jordan Ayew has been an integral member of the team for more than a decade, so he deserves the captaincy.

The Leicester City forward was made the captain of Ghana in the last international break of 2024.

The issue of captaincy has caused many problems for Ghana since the early 1990s.

Former GFA vice president Fred Pappoe, in an interview on Original FM, said that Otto Addo’s decision to make Kudus the captain of Ghana was premature.

“The issue of the Black Stars’ captaincy was poorly handled because the decision to give Mohammed Kudus the captaincy was premature.

Fred Pappoe, during Kwesi Nyantakyi’s reign, was once the vice president of the Ghana Football Association. He knows how beneficial it is to qualify for FIFA World Cup. He disclosed that it would be so horrible if Ghana failed to qualify for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

“Qualification for the 2026 World Cup should be our top priority. It will be more expensive not to qualify,” he added.

Ghana sits second in Group I of the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers and must improve upon the embarrassing performances in 2024 to qualify for the tournament to be played in the USA-CANADA-MEXICO.

The qualifiers resume in March 2025, with Ghana hosting Chad before travelling to Madagascar on matchdays 5 and 6, respectively.