Andre Ayew meant every word in his apology after poor AFCON – Akufo-Addo

Ghana were unable to advance to the knockout stage of the AFCON in the Ivory Coast and failed to win a single game at the tournament.

This added to the disappointing trajectory of the Black Stars exiting the group stage of each of their last three major tournaments (two AFCONs and one World Cup).

In his State of the Nation address on Tuesday, February 27, Akufo-Addo described Ghana’s performance at the AFCON as a low.

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He was, however, convinced that the apology rendered by skipper Ayew on behalf of his teammates was genuine and that the players would work hard to set things right.

“The recent AFCON in Côte d’Ivoire was probably the nadir of the performance of the Black Stars, and has left the nation saddened,” the President said.

“However, I am quite certain that the young men and the technical handlers would, themselves, have wanted to make our nation proud, and I believe that the captain, Andre Dede Ayew, meant every word when he rendered heartfelt apologies on behalf of his team-mates to all Ghanaians for the team’s early exit.”

Meanwhile, Akufo-Addo also revealed plans to unveil a presidential policy on football as a way of reviving the Black Stars from its downward spiral.

According to him, the policy will take a long-term approach and will focus on scouting and grooming talent at the juvenile level.

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"Mr Speaker, I believe it is time for us to take a long-term, far-sighted approach to correct what has gone wrong.

“It is time to return to scouting, grooming and developing talent at the district grassroots level under a Presidential Policy on Football that I intend to unveil.

“The school sports department of the Ministry of Education will work hand in hand with the Ministry of Youth and Sports, in collaboration and synergy with the Ghana Football Association (GFA), to build district, regional and national juvenile teams for both boys and girls,” he added.