Former Black Stars head coach, Charles Kwablan Akonnor has heaped praises on Black Stars captain, Jordan Ayew for his remarkable and laudable leadership skills exhibited at the just ended Unity Cup mini tournament where Ghana placed third. Jordan, who was made substantive captain of the senior national team, the Black Stars back in March this year, led the Black Stars as figurehead to a crucial back-to-back wins against Chad and Madagascar in the   2026 World Cup qualifiers double header.

The 33 year-old attacker spearheaded the success of the Black Stars at the just ended Unity Games which was held in his former city where he used to play for Crystal Palace, the city of London. In the games, he was able to contribute three (3) out of five (5) goals scored by the Black Stars at the tournament; 1 Goal and 2 Assists as he was also able to reach a milestone 31 goals for the Black Stars, just 20 behind all-time leader, Asamoah Gyan.

Despite losing 2-1 in the first game to West African arch rivals, Nigeria the Black Stars were able to come back in the third place play-off to secure a commanding 4-0 win over Caribbean outfit, Trinidad and Tobago to finish in third place of the competition and in that, Jordan Ayew exhibited great leadership and organization skills in bringing together the team as a unit in achieving such feat, especially with the inclusion of some debutants.

Speaking to Graphic Sports, coach CK  Akonnor, who once gave some Black Stars players the chance to have their first taste of national team football, singled out Jordan Ayew for special praise, applauding him for showing strong leadership on the pitch, which he believes will inspire the next generation of players.

“I like the way Jordan showed great leadership on the field of play. It will give the young ones confidence in their game,” he said.

The Black Stars will regroup and converge again in September for the Matchday 7 and 8 games of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers against Chad and Mali respectively.