Rescind your decision to retire – Nana Addo urges Asamoah Gyan

President Nana Akufo-Addo is urging former skipper of the Black Stars, Asamoah Gyan to rescind his decision to quit the team and permanently retire from playing for the senior national soccer team.

This is according to the report of the Director of Communications at the Presidency, Eugene Arhin who said the president engaged Asamoah Gyan in a phone conversation on Tuesday over the latter’s decision.

President Akufo-Addo had earlier in the day invited the Head coach of the Black Stars, Coach Kwesi Appiah to the Jubilee House over the matter.

Gyan announced his decision to retire on Monday in a press statement suggesting that his decision was premised on a decision by the coach to deprive him of the captaincy.

“Upon consultations with my family and team, and as an active footballer and captain of the national team, if the decision of the coach is to give captaincy of the tournament to another player while I am named in the team of the tournament, I wish to recuse myself from the tournament.” Gyan said in his statement

But according to Mr. Arhin, the President informed Gyan about the seeming unhappiness of Ghanaians about his decision and the need for him to reconsider it and make himself available to be invited to join the team.

“The President of the Republic, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, this afternoon, held a meeting with the Minister for Youth and Sports, the President of the GFA Normalisation Committee, and the Chair of the Management Committee of the Senior National Football Team, the Black Stars. The meeting, a continuation of the regular meetings the President holds with them, discussed, amongst others, the preparations being made towards AFCON 2019, and how to end Ghana’s AFCON trophy drought.”

“President Akufo-Addo, subsequently, also spoke on the telephone with Asamoah Gyan, and informed him of the considerable national disquiet over his decision to retire from the Black Stars. The President urged him, in the national interest, to rescind his decision to retire from the Black Stars, and make himself available for selection by Coach Kwasi Appiah,” Eugene Arhin noted in a Facebook post.