Former president of the Ghana Football Association, George Afriyie, has revealed a behind-the-scenes story involving Andre Ayew during the early days of Avram Grant’s tenure as Black Stars coach.

Ahead of the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations, Grant had named his squad, but Andre, for reasons that remain unclear, reported late to camp.

Speaking to Sporty FM, Afriyie recounted how the national team star almost faced a shocking dismissal from camp.

“I’ll tell you a secret. Andre did not arrive in camp early during Grant’s first call-up. Grant vowed to send him home for that and wasn’t ready to listen to anybody. Andre had to come to the Black Stars camp with a chartered flight,” he revealed.

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Nonetheless, Afriyie further revealed that Andre was made to stay.

“The only reason Grant allowed him to join the team was because Andre came with a receipt showing that his daughter was sick and that was what delayed his arrival,” he added.

Grant, who was appointed in December 2014 on a 27-month deal, famously guided Ghana to the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations final, where the Black Stars narrowly lost on penalties to Côte d’Ivoire.

Despite that near success, his tenure ended after the 2017 AFCON, where Ghana finished fourth.



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