Abedi Pele pledges support for Ghana football revival at meeting with Sports Minister
Former Ghana captain and football icon Abedi Ayew Pele has reaffirmed his commitment to supporting the national football agenda, following a closed-door meeting with the Minister of Youth and Sports, Kofi Iddi Adams, today in Accra.
Speaking briefly to journalists after the meeting, Abedi Pele said his presence at the ministry was part of ongoing discussions aimed at reviving the fortunes of Ghana’s senior national team and strengthening football development nationwide.
“Minister and me have been seeing each other for a couple of months, and we’ve been having a chat about the Black Stars,” the three-time African Footballer of the Year revealed. “We gave ourselves a target—to ensure that we go through the two matches ahead of us at that time—and today, we’ve been able to clear that. The football continues, and the qualifying series are on. We need to plan again and see the way forward and execute every match as it comes.”
Abedi Pele, affectionately called “the Maestro,” said his visit followed an invitation from Minister Adams. “Yesterday, I had a call from my honourable that asked me if I could pass by to see him, and I’m here. We had a very faithful discussion,” he said. “We also had other discussions concerning football in the country, which are not to be revealed to the public. It’s between me and him, and we’ll ensure that when that success comes again, he’ll come and tell you what it is.”
He also expressed delight at the opportunity to briefly reconnect with the media. “It has been a while that I haven’t had press like this. This was a surprise call. I never knew there was going to be something like this,” he said. “But as you say, we sportsmen are like military men—we are always ever ready when you call on us.”
Welcoming the football legend, Minister Kofi Iddi Adams described Abedi Pele’s visit as a significant endorsement of the ministry’s ongoing work to improve the state of Ghanaian football.
“If there is ever a footballer so great that Ghana can talk about, then there’s no other person but the one we all describe as the maestro,” he said. “Today, we are blessed as a ministry to have him call on us. It tells you that we are trying our best to reach out to everybody, and he has positively responded.”
The minister expressed confidence in the outcomes of their collaboration. “Like the previous ones, we saw the results, and I know everything and anything you are involved in, results will come,” he said. “We will work to make our football great and our sports great again.”
