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Ghana striker Jordan Ayew has been made the substantive captain of the Black Stars, per intel available to JoySports.
The Crystal Palace forward, who captained the national team in the AFCON 2025 qualifier against Angola in Luanda, will replace his elder brother, André Ayew, who was named captain of the team in May 2019, ahead of the 2019 AFCON in Egypt.
The 33-year-old, who has been with the team since making his debut in September 2010, has been a mainstay in the Black Stars and remains the only player from the squad that represented Ghana at the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil.
Sources tell JoySports that the Ghana FA and the technical team decided to name Jordan Ayew as captain due to his commitment to the national team, rather than just his seniority.
It would be recalled that Otto Addo named Mohammed Kudus as captain of the team for the AFCON 2025 double-header against Sudan in October 2024 but later handed the armband to Jordan the following month.
It was a move to end the chaos and internal bickering within the squad after some players felt disrespected because the decision was not discussed with the group, sources said.
Otto, who later named Jordan as captain, explained:
“I have decided to appoint a new captain, which will be Jordan. I spoke to Kudus to help him understand that I want him to grow into this role and serve as the second captain alongside Djiku.”
He added: “Jordan will take over from now, and he will lead and guide the team.”
This move, many had said, marked the end of Partey’s time in the team. However, JoySports has gathered that the Arsenal midfielder is willing to help the squad when called upon. In fact, he was available for Ghana’s last AFCON qualifying matches against Morocco, but Otto decided against including him in the team.
However, despite his availability, Partey was offered the role of assistant captain to Jordan, which sources say he turned down.
We understand that Partey is not interested in any leadership role in the team and that his only focus is playing football.
With Partey declining the position, Alexander Djiku has been handed the first deputy captain role.
However, there are disagreements about this decision, with some arguing that Mohammed Kudus and Kamaldeen Sulemana should have been considered ahead of Djiku.
Kudus made his debut against South Africa at the Cape Coast Stadium in November 2019, while Djiku was introduced into the team by former coach CK Akonnor in October 2020.
Meanwhile, it appears Kudus will keep the number 10 jersey despite being advised against it.
Sources claim that it was not his decision to take up the shirt and that Otto Addo assigned it to him. Now being asked to revert to his previous number 20, Kudus has refused and will continue wearing number 10 for international matches.
Ghana will face Chad in March on Matchday 5 of the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers.
source: myjoyonline.com
