Andre Ayew should have been given befitting farewell from Black Stars - Eric Nkansah on Kudus' number 10 jersey

Legendary Ghanaian sprinter Eric Nkansah has criticized the Ghana Football Association over what he views as a lack of a transitional plan for Ghana’s great players.

The legendary athlete has observed the persistent chaos and controversy that greet changes in the captaincy of the Black Stars and believes that the GFA has not done a good job in dealing with the issue.

While Eric Nkansah is not a believer of spiritism in football, he believes that the unfair treatment of players who dedicate their careers to the Black Stars could create some misfortune for the team.

He is concerned that ever since Stephen Appiah vacated his role as skipper of the Black Stars, there has not been a smooth transition of the captaincy role within the team.

Touching on the latest captaincy issue, Eric Nkansah believes that Andre Ayew should have been given a ceremonial and befitting send-off before his position and jersey number were passed on to Mohammed Kudus.

“Dede Ayew was very committed and dedicated to the national team, so if we think that the time has arrived for him to make way, we could have found a nice way of doing it. We could have used this game or even the one against Sudan to give him a befitting send-off. We did the same for Asamoah Gyan and now Dede Ayew.

“We gave his jersey to Mohammed Kudus. It would have been nice if Dede Ayew gave his blessings to Mohammed Kudus to wear the number ten jersey. There was a time we played a game and no player wanted the number ten jersey."

Eric Nkansah was discussing Ghana’s draw with Sudan in the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations on Thursday, October 10, 2024.

Ghana labored to pick up a point against the Sudanese, who spent much of the time in their own half, ostensibly hoping for a draw.

The result means that Ghana is yet to win a game in the 2025 AFCON qualifiers, with Otto Addo’s side drawing two and losing one of the three matches played so far.

The return fixture will be played in Libya on October 14.

Watch the interview below:

EK