Ayew embraces 'destiny' as Ghana's captain

Jordan Ayew made his Ghana debut as an 18-year-old in 2010

Jordan Ayew says he "believes in destiny" after being named captain of Ghana for this month's 2026 Fifa World Cup qualifiers.

The Leicester City forward will lead the Black Stars under a revamped national team structure which includes Winfried Schafer as technical advisor of the Ghana Football Association.

Football runs deep in the Ayew family, with both Jordan's father Abedi Pele and brother Andre Ayew having previously captained the four-time continental champions.

Jordan Ayew feels "honoured" and "proud" to continue that legacy.

"It’s just something that was written in the stars," he told BBC Sport Africa.

"We're just a passionate family. We just want to do our best [and] let the people enjoy our game."

The 33-year-old takes over the armband from his elder sibling, who was left out of the squad by head coach Otto Addo for Group I games against Chad and Madagascar.

Arsenal midfielder Thomas Partey, Andre's former deputy, returns to the squad after missing 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers in November.

"I’m not someone who thinks about [being] captain or [a] leadership role," Ayew explained.

"I just want to enjoy playing football, winning games, scoring goals and making people happy.

"There was lot of talks and I was always quiet in my corner. I don't focus on all those things. It just happened naturally."

Learning from 'the best'

The Ayew brothers played together for Ghana at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar

Since making his debut as a teenager in 2010, Jordan Ayew has been a key member of the Black Stars set-up with over 100 senior caps for Ghana.

His brother Andre, now 35 and playing in France for Le Havre, is the country's most capped player with 120 appearances.

Jordan acknowledges the "responsibilities" that comes with the captaincy, admitting that leading Ghana demands "work".

"Andre and [I] are very close - he congratulated me and give me some advice. Asamoah [Gyan] as well," he said.

"I’ve learned from the best - whether is Asamoah [or] Andre. I'll try and pick up things from their qualities.

"I'll keep on taking advices and things that made me grow to become who I am today."

Ayew has been instrumental in Ghana's 2026 World Cup qualification campaign, scoring a hat-trick against the Central African Republic in Kumasi in June last year.

With four goals in the qualifiers, he is Ghana's top scorer, trailing only Egypt pair Mohamed Salah and Trezeguet, who have five goals apiece after four rounds.

"Since I've been in the national team I'm still the same today," Ayew said.

"When I'm myself, I am at my best. When I'm not myself, then I become unproductive."

The pressure of playing for Ghana

Ghana will miss this year's Africa Cup of Nations finals in Morocco - the first time the West Africans will be absent from the tournament since 2004 - after finishing bottom of Group F in a winless campaign.

However, the Black Stars picked up nine points from their first four Group I outings in World Cup preliminaries, and Ayew remains optimistic that the team's transition period can bring "positive" results.

"There's pressure playing for Ghana," he said.

"We can't stop people from criticism - it's part of the game.

"When the results are not there, the manager and the players get the backlash."

With Ghana boasting Premier League stars such as Partey, Mohammed Kudus and Antoine Semenyo, Ayew insists the team must secure qualification for next year's World Cup finals in the United States, Mexico and Canada.

"As professional players, [we] need to have the mentality and strength to stand up for the challenge," Ayew said.

"Hopefully, from these two games, we can show a good image of ourselves and turn things around."

Ghana host Chad on Friday (19:00 GMT) before an away game against Madagascar on Monday (19:00 GMT).