Division in Black Stars 1992 squad was not caused by Accra vs Kumasi rift

Former Black Stars midfielder Stanley Aborah has stated that the Black Stars squad was divided during the 1992 Africa Cup of Nations in Senegal, but it was not due to tribalism.

It was rumoured that the

Read full articlehref='/GhanaHomePage/people/person.php?ID=3622'>Black Stars squad got divided when the technical team stripped off James Kwasi Appiah, who is an Ashanti, the captaincy for Abedi Pele, who grew up in Accra.

According to Aborah, the players were told that Kwasi lost the armband to Abedi because the latter was more abreast with French.

"I can't tell whether they had a discussion with Kwasi. But for the players, all we heard was we are going to a french speaking country and Kwasi is not abreast with French so someone who is familiar with the language should be the captain. When I went to Korea, I couldn't speak their language but I played with them, communicated and even made friends. So that is what happened," he told Dan Kwaku Yeboah TV.

He then clarified that although there was a division, it was not because Ashantis were angry about Kwasi losing the captaincy to 'Accra boy" Abedi.

"We never knew there was a division in the Black Stars, but that was the moment that thing happen. But it wasn't Accra against Ashantis because where Kwasi used to sit, both the Accra guys and the Ashantis also went to sit there. So, the division wasn't there but rather it was at a small portion."

He advised that division does not help team growth and thus Ghanaians should ensure that the issues in 1992 do not repeat themselves.

"Let's not talk about it again. Ghanaians need to ensure it doesn't happen again because in football, it doesn't help."

At the AFCON, Ghana lost to Ivory Coast in penalties, missing out on their fifth African championship title.

EE/KPE