Ayew: Otto Addo Should Have Gone After AFCON Failure

Former Black Stars captain André Ayew has questioned the Ghana Football Association’s decision to retain Otto Addo after Ghana failed to qualify for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON), arguing that the coach should have been dismissed at that point. Ayew made the remarks while speaking on the Obi One Podcast hosted by former Nigeria international John Obi Mikel.

According to the former captain, Ghana’s failure to reach the continental tournament was serious enough to warrant an immediate change in technical leadership. “I think that should have happened long before,” Ayew said, referring to Addo’s eventual dismissal. He added that when Ghana fails to qualify for AFCON, “you can’t go further,” making clear that, in his view, the failure should have ended Addo’s tenure. Ghana’s failure to qualify for the 2025 AFCON was a major setback for the Black Stars, who missed the tournament for the first time in more than two decades. The team finished bottom of its qualifying group after six matches without a victory, recording three draws and three defeats.

Despite the disappointment, the GFA retained Addo, and the coach subsequently guided Ghana to qualification for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. That achievement, however, did not prevent the GFA from eventually ending his second spell in charge. The association parted ways with Addo on March 31, 2026, following a run of poor results in international friendlies. His dismissal came just 72 days before the World Cup was scheduled to begin. Ayew acknowledged that Addo eventually delivered World Cup qualification but maintained that the timing of the coaching decision was the major issue.

He also pointed to the Black Stars’ struggles after securing their World Cup place, noting that the team went through a difficult sequence of matches before Addo’s departure. The GFA’s decision to change coaches so close to the World Cup subsequently meant that Carlos Queiroz took over with limited preparation time. For Ayew, the issue goes beyond Addo personally. He stressed that the Black Stars belong to the entire country and that the ultimate objective must be to build a team capable of winning. “The Black Stars is for the whole country, and we want to win,” Ayew said, while acknowledging that achieving success requires a proper process.

His comments have reopened debate over the GFA’s handling of the Black Stars’ technical affairs, particularly whether the association should have acted immediately after the AFCON qualification failure rather than allowing Addo to continue and subsequently secure World Cup qualification. Addo’s tenure ultimately became defined by that contrast: a historic AFCON qualification failure followed by successful qualification for the 2026 World Cup, before his dismissal months ahead of the tournament. Ayew’s position is that Ghana should have made the coaching change much earlier, rather than waiting until preparations for the World Cup were already well advanced.

By: Joyce Owusu