Sports News of Tuesday, 1 June 2021
Source: www.ghanaweb.com
2021-06-01
Andre Ayew with his father Abedi Ayew Pele
Swansea City captain, Andre Dede Ayew has struggled to achieve his father’s record of qualifying his team from the Championship [first Division] to the Premiership.
Andre Ayew’s hope of helping Swansea City qualify back to the English Premier League was dashed for the 2nd time over the weekend when his side lost 2-0 to Brentford in the Championship play-offs.
Prior to this season, Brentford defeated Swansea City in the first round of the English Football League [EFL] Championship play-offs in the 2019-2020 season.
Andre Ayew’s fate of helping the Welsh club return to the top division of the league is an achievement that his footballing father, Abedi Ayew Pele, was able to accomplish in his early days as a footballer.
Regarded as one of the greatest African football players in history, Abedi Pele joined French Division 2 side, Chamois Niortais from Ghanaian club Real Tamale United [RTU] and helped them qualify to the French League 1 for the first time in the club’s history.
Abedi’s arrival in France saw Chamois Niortais earn promotion to the French Ligue 1, scoring 14 incredible goals for the club in the only season he spent with the club.
Although Chamois Niortais matches were never televised till they joined French League 1, scouts managed to spot Abedi’s talent and in no time he got interests from top clubs in the country like AS Monaco and Marseille.
However, instead of offering him to their opponents in the Ligue 1, Chamois Niortais sold Abedi back to a Second Division club, Mulhouse.
Chamois Niortais lost Abedi’s ‘Midas touch’ after his departure and after just one season in the French elite League, Chamois Niortais were relegated never to return to French League 1 till date.
Before his move abroad, Abedi helped his boyhood club, RTU to earn promotion into Ghana’s elite division. History has it that the attacking midfielder was part of RTU’s squad that stormed Kumasi to end Asante Kotoko’s invincibility in the local league.