Former Black Stars defender Samuel Osei Kuffour
Former Black Stars defender Samuel Osei Kuffour has voiced his concerns over the often controversial captaincy transitions within the national team.
The Bayern Munich legend criticised the handling of leadership changes, which he believes creates unnecessary tension. He cited the transition from Asamoah Gyan to Andre Dede Ayew as a prime example of mismanagement.
Speaking to Sporty FM, Kuffour recalled his opposition to the decision to strip Gyan of the captaincy in the latter stages of his international career.
“We make [Black Stars captaincy] too complicated. It wasn’t the right decision to take the armband from Asamoah Gyan. As part of the Normalisation Committee (NC), I said, let Gyan remain captain since he had only a few months left,” Kuffour explained.
“We didn’t need to create tension for Dede (Andre Ayew) or make Gyan feel isolated,” he added.
The former AS Roma defender suggested that the restructuring of leadership should be left to the head coach rather than the Ghana Football Association (GFA).
“A coach has to choose the [Black Stars] captain, not the FA,” he emphasized.
Kuffour’s remarks come in the wake of recent captaincy changes over the past few months, particularly during the absence of Dede Ayew and Thomas Partey.
During the 2025 AFCON qualifiers in September and November 2024, the captaincy was rotated, with Mohammed Kudus and Jordan Ayew leading the team in different matches.
However, the GFA has since resolved the situation by establishing a new captaincy structure. Jordan Ayew has been named the substantive skipper, with Thomas Partey, Mohammed Kudus, and Alexander Djiku serving as the first, second, and third deputies, respectively.
EE/MA