Prince Opoku Polley, a Ghanaian retired footballer, has explained how captaincy issues at the Black Stars have been a huge issue for everyone. Prin
Prince Opoku Polley, a Ghanaian retired footballer, has explained how captaincy issues at the Black Stars have been a huge issue for everyone.
Prince Sampene was part of Ghana’s squad that played in the 1992 and 1994 AFCONs hence know2s how captaincy has cost the team.
The former Asante Kotoko and FC Twente striker in an interview on Kessben FM, Polley said, “Captaincy issues have cost the Black Stars a lot. It discourages players.
“I saw Jordan’s situation as problematic. I remember Coach Kwesi Appiah solving a similar issue before our game against Sudan at the Accra Sports Stadium. When an opposing coach has to step in to fix our captaincy problem before a game, that’s a serious issue we should have addressed. Again, I think Otto Addo should have explained to Jordan why he gave the armband to Kudus,” Polley added.
Ghana’s performance in the AFCON qualifiers was disastrous, it was distasteful and embarrassing as the Black Stars failed to record a single win against Angola, Sudan and Niger. So many issues caused the failure but the biggest was the captaincy issue that led to huge division among the playing body.
In the absence of Thomas Partey, the Arsenal midfielder, West Ham United’s Mohammed Kudus was made the captain. Jordan Ayew felt he should have been the skipper because he has been around for far too long and it is his turn. Reports say it divided the playing body as some were in support of Otto Addo’s decision to make Kudus the captain while others wanted Jordan.
At the end of the day, it was Ghana that suffered so captaincy issues must be resolved once and for all.
Prince Polley is a living witness to how Abedi Pele was made the skipper of captain at the expense of James Kwesi Appiah. Also, the decision to let Tony Baffoe lead Ghana in the 19932 AFCON finals, he witnessed it and knows how it has negatively affected the team since the beginning of the 1990s.
Jordan Ayew has been made the permanent skipper of the Black Stars ahead of the resumption of the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers.
Ghana will host Chad at the Accra Sports Stadium and travel to Morocco to face Madagascar in rounds 5 and 6.
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