Black Stars Captaincy Uncertainty Drags On

John Mensah has still not been made the permanent Ghana captain after acting in the job for nearly one year.

John Mensah has still not been made the permanent Ghana captain after acting in the job for nearly one year.

The Sunderland strongman got the armband since the international retirement of charismatic Stephen Appiah after the World Cup last year.

Since then Mensah has led the Black Stars with excellence but has not officially been confirmed as the full-time captain which has raised some eyebrows.

Even though he has been working in the position he has refused to call himself the captain of the Black Stars on his personal website as he prefers to be known only as the deputy.

Ghana FA officials have been impressed by Mensah’s continuing leadership on and off the pitch in the past 12 months.

While Mensah’s captaincy is straightforward, the next in line to wear the armband is not clear.

Michael Essien was expected to be Mensah’s deputy in the hierarchy created during Stephen Appiah’s reign.

But the Ghana FA experimented with different players in the role with John Paintsil and Sulley Muntari all taking their chances.

Elderly statesman Richard Kingson was also at hand to captain the team during the 2010 African Cup of Nations but his position as the ‘father’ of the team leaves him to resolve serious problems in the squad if they arise.

The Black Stars captaincy destroyed the team when Kwasi Appiah was stripped of the armband and handed to Abedi Pele in 1991.

With this history in mind, measures must be taken by new Ghana coach Goran Stevanovic and crucially Ghana FA officials who know the background of the Black Stars captaincy that created serious divisions in the squad, affecting the talented team for many years.