Former Ghana Football Association (GFA) Vice President George Afriyie has kicked against the decision to appoint Mohammed Kudus as the stand-in captain for the Black Stars during their matches against Sudan.
Kudus, who plays for West Ham United, was designated as the captain for the crucial doubleheader in the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifiers after Thomas Partey was sidelined due to medical issues.
Although Jordan Ayew was next in line to lead the team, Kudus was ultimately chosen to fill the role.
The Black Stars, however, struggled in the matches, drawing 0-0 in the first leg at the Accra Sports Stadium before suffering a 2-0 defeat in the return leg at the Martyrs of February Stadium in Libya.
“I’m not convinced under what circumstance, where we have a Black Stars [captaincy] structure, where who is the captain and the next in line [are defined], and I mean, in such a crucial moment, the captaincy was given to Kudus. There are so many things but we are not there,” Afriyie told Joy Sports.
As a result of these performances, Ghana now finds itself third in Group F, with just two points from four games, putting them on the brink of missing out on AFCON qualification for the first time in 20 years.
The Black Stars will return to the pitch in November for their final two qualifying matches against Niger and Angola, needing both Sudan to lose their matches and themselves to win both games to secure a spot in the tournament set to take place in Morocco next year.