Audio By Carbonatix
Deposed skipper of the national football team, the Black Star, has been urged to decline a new position created for him within the team he has led for seven years.
Veteran journalist Kweku Baako Jnr has described the post of ‘General Captain’ as "an animal of no value” and has shared an expectation that the 2010 BBC African Footballer would reject the position.
Already the decision to name Ghana’s most lethal goal scorer as a General Captain has been met with derision from wide sections of social media.
Coach Kwesi Appiah gave him the post after stripping Gyan of the captaincy, handing it over to former U-20 World Cup winner, 29-year old Dede Ayew.
The General Captaincy position was first created for John Mensah when Asamoah Gyan was set to take over from Black Stars defender John Mensah.
But persisting with the position in 2019 has been seen as an attempt to placate Gyan after he announced pulling out of the squad as the decision to strip him of the captaincy loomed. Asamoah Gyan once carved his image on the captain’s band.
“Asamoah Gyan should have rejected it….I expect him to reject it,” Baako said on JoyNews analysis show Newsfile Saturday.
The controversy over captaincy has cast a shadow over Ghana’s readiness to win the 2019 African Cup of Nations(AFCON) in Egypt, breaking a 37-year jinx.
“The truth is that I am not seeing too many prospects,” Baako struggled to believe the Black Stars can conquer Africa.
He blamed Asamoah Gyan for ‘sowing the seed for the mess’, setting off an “avoidable dramatization” with his announcement pulling out of the squad.
It took the intervention by the President, Nana Akufo-Addo, to get Gyan to rescind his decision. The President’s action adds to the list of presidential interventions in the management of the Black Stars.
Kweku Baako, however, indicated he would he wished the President had not intervened and expressed fears Nana Akufo-Addo’s involvement could create problems.
“Honestly it’s a mess…this thing is a mess”, the Editor-In-Chief of the New Crusading Guide newspaper weighed up the saga of the captain’s band.
Footballer insider and former Ghana Football Association spokesperson Randy Abbey also believes the position of General Captain is unnecessary.
He compared it to being a member of the Council of State and explained in football such positions can be patronising.
Latest Stories
-
Today’s Front pages: Friday, January 16, 2026
1 minute -
Jerome Abaka-Cann establishes Imperial Eye award to advance African-Led optometric research
15 minutes -
Police arrest Tiktoker captured in viral video assaulting a woman
23 minutes -
Ghana earns global praise for child rights reforms at Geneva forum
23 minutes -
Traditional Kitchen – the overlooked small ‘Toxic Waste Factory’ killing thousands every year
33 minutes -
FACT CHECK: Did Ghana Publishing Company really increase its asset base by 3,000% in 2023?
43 minutes -
US ICE confirms Ofori-Atta overstayed visa, describes him as ‘illegal alien’
50 minutes -
Ghana, Japan deepen diplomatic and economic ties at high-level talks in Accra
54 minutes -
Gun amnesty extended to January 30 as Interior Ministry issues final call for surrender of illicit firearms
54 minutes -
Government to build 1,500-seat National Theatre in Kumasi
1 hour -
Sammy Crabbe accuses NPP General Secretary of undermining party discipline
1 hour -
GOIL PLC reduces fuel prices at stations to ease cost of living
2 hours -
Atta Akyea warns NPP against dropping Bawumia ahead of 2028 elections
2 hours -
Kumasi faces landfill crisis as Mayor seeks €6m for expansion
2 hours -
Police rescue 46 trafficking victims, including toddler, at Buduburam
2 hours
