The head of Public Relations & Strategy at the Ghana Football Association (GFA), Neil Armstrong-Mortagbe, is urging Ghanaians to respect Otto Addo's decision to leave out Black Stars captain Andre Ayew from the latest squad.
The Le Havre playmaker was not handed a call-up by coach Otto Addo ahead of Ghana's upcoming 2026 World Cup qualifiers against Mali and Central African Republic.
The development has triggered incessant debate among Ghanaian football fanatics, especially looking at Ayews exceptional performance in the 2023/24 French Ligue 1 season, where he netted five goals in 19 games, playing a key role in helping the 'Sky-and-Navy' to escape relegation.
"The outpouring of concerns by Ghanaians is very well noted by the FA and I'm sure the coach has also taken note as well about what Ghanaians have said about Dede's omission, but he has a broad perspective about what he is doing. He knows the players that are potentially available, the players that are on the injury list that would be back. He's worked with Dede before and he is not a stranger to him," Armstrong-Mortagbe told Joy Prime.
"So if he says this time, in these two games this is the stock of players that he needs, I think we just respect his decision and put all our support behind him," he urged.
In the absence of Ayew, Arsenal's Thomas Partey will captain the Black Stars for the two games against Mali and Central African Republic.
The Black Stars has three points from two games in group I, with Comoros leading the group with 6 points.
By: Pascal Amoah
