ABIDJAN – Veteran Ghana forward Andre Ayew is hoping to create one record and equal another during the Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon), which starts on Jan 13 in the Ivory Coast.
The 34-year-old, who recently joined French top-flight outfit Le Havre, has his sights set on becoming the first player to score in seven editions of the marquee African football event.
He shares the record of scoring in six with compatriot Asamoah Gyan, Zambian Kalusha Bwalya and Cameroonian Samuel Eto’o, the all-time leading Afcon scorer with 18 goals.
He also hopes to become only the third player to feature in eight editions of a competition that began as a three-team tournament in 1957 but is now a 24-nation spectacle.
Rigobert Song, who will coach his native Cameroon at this tournament, and Egyptian Ahmed Hassan share the record for most tournament appearances.
“My priority is to either start or come off the bench in the Ivory Coast,” Ayew said ahead of Group B clashes with Cape Verde, Mozambique and record seven-time champions Egypt.
“After that, let us see what happens. What is most important is that Ghana do well in this competition, as we had a bad Cup of Nations (in 2022), going out after the first round.”
Ghana boast the third most successful record in this tournament after Egypt and Cameroon with four titles, but the last came in 1982 when they edged out hosts Libya in a final decided by penalties.
They achieved six straight top-four finishes from 2008, but fell in the round of 16 five years ago and suffered a humiliating first-round exit in 2022 after losing to minnows Comoros. It did not help the Black Stars’ cause in the must-win clash that Ayew was red-carded.
Amid calls from some Ghanaians for him to be axed, a succession of coaches have kept faith in him, including incumbent and former English Premier League manager Chris Hughton.
“Andre contributes a lot to the Black Stars, both on and off the field,” says the ex-Newcastle United and Brighton & Hove Albion boss and former Republic of Ireland defender.
Ayew was born in France, where his father, three-time African Footballer of the Year and Ghana legend Abedi Pele, was playing.
He made his professional debut with Marseille in 2007 and also played in the English Premier League for Swansea, West Ham and Nottingham Forest. He also had stints in Turkey and Qatar, and joined Le Havre two months ago.
His younger brother, Crystal Palace winger Jordan Ayew, is also in a Ghana squad who are among the favourites more because of their reputation than form.
But Hughton has omitted injured EPL players Thomas Partey and Tariq Lamptey from their 27-man squad named on Jan 1.
In their last competitive match before the tournament, they crashed 1-0 away to bogey side Comoros two months ago in a 2026 World Cup qualifier.
Ghana’s fierce rivals Nigeria have a far more stacked squad, especially up front, and will be serious contenders for the title.
The last of Nigeria’s three continental titles came 11 years ago in South Africa, but they head to the Ivory Coast with an attack boasting the likes of reigning African Footballer of the Year Victor Osimhen of Napoli, Bayer Leverkusen’s Victor Boniface, AC Milan’s Samuel Chukwueze and Ademola Lookman of Atalanta.
The injury-enforced absence of Leicester City’s Wilfred Ndidi could, however, be a key miss.
But Ibrahim Gusau, president of the Nigeria Football Federation, played down the 27-year-old midfielder’s importance to the Super Eagles, saying: “We played a lot of matches without Ndidi, and we won a lot of matches without Ndidi. We played a lot of matches with Ndidi and lost unexpectedly, so it’s not about Ndidi, it’s about the national team of Nigeria.”
He suggested Alhassan Yusuf, the uncapped midfielder from Antwerp, can step up, saying: “Yusuf is also doing wonderfully well with his team. You can see the performance he put on in the win against Barcelona in the Champions League (in December).” AFP
