Former Ghanaian footballer Abedi Pele
- He is a retired footballer from Ghana
- He played as an attacking midfielder
- He is regarded as the great African footballer of all time
Who is Abedi Pele?
Abedi is a retired footballer from Ghana who played as an attacking midfielder. He also served as a captain for the Ghana national team, regarded as one of the greatest footballers ever.
The attacking midfielder played for several European clubs and found his fame in the French Ligue 1 with Marseille where he won the UEFA Champions League among other titles.
Personal Life
Abedi Ayew professionally known as Abedi Pele was born on November 5th 1964 in Kibi, Ghana and grew up in the town of Dome in the northern part of Accra. He became one of the pioneers of African football in Europe.
He became one of the first great African players to make an impact on European club football. He comes from a family with a football background as his brother Kwame ad Sola Ayew were also footballers at Hearts of Oak and Black Meteors.
Abedi is married to Maha and they sired a daughter and three sons who are also professional footballers and they play internationally.
Abedi Pele with his so Dede Ayew. Photo/GhanaWeb
Andre and Rahim represented Ghana in the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa while Jordan and Andre represented Ghana in the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil and the FIFA World Cup 2022 held in Qatar.
His children have inherited their father’s traits that made him successful over his career, and they are also doing traits that made him successful over his career, and they are also doing very well. The family is a true legend in the sport.
Career
Abedi’s career began at Real Tamale United in Ghana and then he left his country to join Al Saad I Qatar for a transfer fee of $1,000 after a short spell with FC Zurich he returned to Ghana.
He then joined Dragon FC de I’Oueme in Benin after Kotoko and Hearts of Oak failed to sign him. He later returned to Ghana to play for his first team Real Tamale United for one season.
Abedi began his career in Europe with Chamois Niort, to Marseille and then transferred to Lille on loan.
He was a key figure in the league’s dominance at Marseille league’s dominance, playing in four championship leagues and two European Cup finals appearances.
After his loan spell at Lille, the player joined Lyons also playing for Italian side Torino and later signed a contract with Al Ain I the United Arab Emirates where he was nominated as the best foreign player in the UAE league.
Abedi Pele. Photo/CNN
Internationally, Abedi was one of the top placings in the FIFA World Player of the Year award and it run for three consecutive years. He also holds a record for most appearances at the Africa Cup of Nations.
Abedi’s Retirement
Ayew participated in more FIFA-organized matches than any other African player and is a member of FIFA’s football committee and the player’s status committees of both FIFA and CAF.
This is the reason why the South African FA appointed him as the spokesperson for their World Cup bid. As a country, Ghana awarded him the country’s highest honour, the Order of the Volta making him the first Ghanaian sportsman to be honoured.
Since his retirement, he was often included in the FIFA selections and captained the African All-Stars in their victory over their European counterparts.
Ambassadorial Role
As a devout citizen of his country, the Ghanaian government nominated the ex-player to serve as the next chairman of the FA, an opportunity he later gave up for a more experienced former coach of Ghana, saying it was time to learn from his superiors.
Currently, he owns a first-division football club Called Nania with the hopes of nurturing young talent to take the lead in the sport and take the country to an extra level from where he left off.
He has also been involved with various charity work across the African continent.
Challenges
Abedi found himself in a serious alleged second-division play-off bribery scandal in which the Ghana Football Association found him and other people involved guilty. This attracted fines and suspension for the parties involved.
However, the initial judgement was quashed by the Appeals Committee of the Football Association after determining that there were irregularities in the Ghana Football Association.
Since he began his club, things have not been smooth and has faced rivalry challenges to the extent of his wife being banned from football against manipulations though they have kept strong and still moving on.
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