Andre Ayew has said the perceived lack of passion from some Black Stars players is due to the different career paths of players in the team.
The senior national team has faced tough times in recent years. Having participated in the 2006, 2010, and 2014 World Cups, the Black Stars have struggled to achieve significant results since.
At the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, the team exited at the group stage, and in the last two editions of the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in Cameroon and Ivory Coast, they were also eliminated in the group stage.
These failures have raised concerns among fans who feel the current players lack the commitment to represent the nation.
However, Ayew maintains that the dedication and commitment within the team remain unchanged since his debut.
But, the career paths of the new generation have had a different impact on the team, as these players do not get the same exposure to the cultural values that staying in the country demands.
Speaking about psychological effects on humans and how to handle them at the Legon Sports Psychology class on Friday, the Le Havre forward said, “We are patriotic, the Ghana Black Stars I know are always patriotic, the team is patriotic and wants to win.
“But we are in a phase where we have different people, so we cannot compare the players in the early 2000s to the current generation.
“We have a young squad who are now understanding what it means to play for the team. They started early; it’s not like the older players who began playing in the local league before leaving.
“These current young ones leave the shores of Ghana very early, so they tend to cope more with what they’re experiencing abroad, so coming back to Ghana to readapt to our culture and values is not easy,” he said.
Ayew also gave his thoughts on what could help address this issue.
“What we can do is, psychologically, everybody needs to understand what Ghana means, what Ghana football means to the people. The young ones need more support to focus on what playing for the country means,” he added.
Last month, the Black Stars recorded back-to-back wins against Mali and the Central African Republic in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers.