Andre Ayew: We will win it for Ghana

Andre Ayew has vowed they will fight to win Sunday’s AFCON final against Cote d’Ivoire for the whole of Ghana.

Ghana last won this competition in 1982 with Andre’s father, the legendary Abedi ‘Pele’ Ayew, one of the top stars from that triumph in Libya.

Ten years later, Ayew senior could not play another Africa Cup final after he picked up a second yellow card against Nigeria in the semi-final and Cote d’Ivoire went ahead to beat the Black Stars 11-10 on penalties after a goalless 120 minutes of action.

“I remember the red coat my father wore (sitting on the sidelines in the 1992 final). My father is a Ghanaian and so I want to win this cup for all Ghanaians,” said ‘Dede’.

“When you get to the final, you need to do everything to win the trophy.”

He blamed inexperience for the Black Stars losing the 2010 AFCON final to Egypt.

“For the 2010 final, we had about 14 players from the U20 World Cup and we were in the final after just three months (of U20 World Cup). In this final we were attacking and attacking but we couldn’t score. We lacked experience,” he admitted.

The 25-year-old Olympique Marseille forward has shone at this competition, scoring three goals but he insisted it was the result of the confidence he has enjoyed both from his teammates and the coach.

“I have tried to raise my game because I have been given responsibilities both on and off the pitch. It is due to the group and the confidence from the coach,” he said.