Abedi Ayew ( ; born 5 November 1964), known professionally as Abedi Pele, is a Ghanaian former professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder and served as captain of the Ghana national team. He is regarded as one of the greatest African footballers of all time. He played for several European clubs and found his fame in the French

Ligue 1 Ligue 1 (; ), officially known as Ligue 1 McDonald's France, McDonald's for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in France and the highest level of the French football league system. Administered by the Ligue de ...

with

Lille Lille (, ; ; ; ; ) is a city in the northern part of France, within French Flanders. Positioned along the Deûle river, near France's border with Belgium, it is the capital of the Hauts-de-France Regions of France, region, the Prefectures in F ...

and

Marseille Marseille (; ; see #Name, below) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Bouches-du-Rhône and of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region. Situated in the ...

. At the latter, he won the

UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (UCL) is an annual club association football competition organised by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) that is contested by List of top-division football clubs in UEFA countries, top-divisio ...

in 1993, among other titles. He was also the first to win the CAF award in 1992.

Early life

Abedi Ayew was born into a family in the town of Kibi and grew up in the town of Dome at the northern outskirts of the city

Accra Accra (; or ''Gaga''; ; Ewe: Gɛ; ) is the capital and largest city of Ghana, located on the southern coast at the Gulf of Guinea, which is part of the Atlantic Ocean. As of 2021 census, the Accra Metropolitan District, , had a population of ...

. He attended Ghana Senior High School in Tamale. He was given the nickname "Pelé" due to his ability in football, which evoked comparisons to the late Brazilian athlete

Pelé Edson Arantes do Nascimento (; 23 October 1940 – 29 December 2022), better known by his nickname Pelé (), was a Brazilian professional Association football, footballer who played as a Forward (association football), forward. Widely reg ...

Club career

Abedi Pele was one of the first African players to make an impact on European club football. His nomadic career began with Real Tamale United in Ghana in 1978. He left Ghana after the 1982 African Cup of Nations to join Al Sadd in Qatar for a $1,000 transfer fee. After a short spell with FC Zürich, he returned to Ghana but, after both Kotoko and Hearts of Oak failed to sign him, joined AS Dragons FC de l'Ouémé in Benin. He would later return to Ghana and play for Real Tamale United for one season. He began his career in Europe with French side Chamois Niort, subsequently joining

before transferring to

on loan. At club level, he was a key figure in Marseille's dominance of the French league, resulting in four league championships and two European Cup finals appearances. At Marseille, he was a member of the team's "Magical Trio" along with Jean-Pierre Papin and Chris Waddle, spearheading perhaps Europe's strongest league side of the early 1990s, including a European Cup final defeat in 1991. Abedi Pele was the only remaining member of the trio still with the side when Marseille defeated Milan in the 1993 Champions League final in

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

. He later joined

Lyon Lyon (Franco-Provençal: ''Liyon'') is a city in France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of the French Alps, southeast of Paris, north of Marseille, southwest of Geneva, Switzerland, north ...

after his loan spell at Lille. He also played for Torino of Italy and rounded out his European career with 1860 Munich. Abedi Pele signed a two-year contract with

Al Ain Al Ain () is a city in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, and the seat of the administrative division of the Al Ain Region. The city is Oman–United Arab Emirates border, bordered to the east by the Omani town of Al-Buraimi. Al A ...

in the United Arab Emirates and was nominated one of the best foreign players to play in the UAE league.

International career

Abedi Pele played for

Ghana Ghana, officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It is situated along the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, and shares borders with Côte d’Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, and Togo to t ...

73 times. He was a fixture in the African Championships of the 1980s and '90s with his national team, and a member of Ghana's victorious team in the 1982 African Cup of Nations, but he never had an opportunity to play in the

FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often called the World Cup, is an international association football competition among the senior List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams of the members of the FIFA, Fédération Internatio ...

, as the ''Black Stars'' failed to qualify for the competition during his career. However, he was arguably the most dominant figure on the African football scene for nearly a decade. His performance in the 1992 African Cup of Nations, for which he was voted the player of the tournament, was particularly notable, as he scored in three successive rounds to help Ghana reach the final, but picked up a yellow card in the semi-final against

Nigeria Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...

that meant he was suspended for the final; Ghana went on to lose on penalties to the

Ivory Coast Ivory Coast, also known as Côte d'Ivoire and officially the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, is a country on the southern coast of West Africa. Its capital city of Yamoussoukro is located in the centre of the country, while its largest List of ci ...

. The performance earned him the added nickname of "The African Maradona". Abedi Pele was one of the first African football players to earn a top placing in

FIFA World Player of the Year The FIFA World Player of the Year was an association football award presented annually by the sport's governing body, FIFA, between 1991 and 2015 at the FIFA World Player Gala. Coaches and captains of international teams and media representative ...

voting, doing so in 1991 and 1992. He won the '' France Football'' African Player of the Year Award three consecutive years, was the inaugural winner of the BBC African Sports Star of the Year in 1992, and the corresponding

Confederation of African Football The Confederation of African Football (CAF) is the administrative and controlling body for association football, beach soccer, and futsal in Africa. It was established on 8 February 1957 at the ''Grand Hotel'' in Khartoum, Sudan. At the FIFA Co ...

award twice. Abedi Pele holds the record for most appearances at the African Cup of Nations. He made his first appearance at the in Libya in 1982 and continued to compete at the tournament for the next 16 years, his last appearance coming in the 1998 edition in Burkina Faso. Aside from his exploits at the 1992 competition, he also earned much acclaim for his three goals at the 1996 competition, where he led Ghana to the semi-finals of the competition despite critics expecting him to be in the twilight of his career.

After retirement

Abedi Pele has participated in more

FIFA The Fédération Internationale de Football Association (), more commonly known by its acronym FIFA ( ), is the international self-regulatory governing body of association football, beach soccer, and futsal. It was founded on 21 May 1904 to o ...

organized charity matches than any other African player. He is a member of FIFA's Football Committee, and of the player status committees of both FIFA and CAF. The South African FA made him a spokesperson for their 2006 World Cup bid. In appreciation of Abedi Pele's service to the country, the Ghanaian government gave him the country's highest honour, the Order of the Volta (civil division). He was the first Ghanaian sportsman to be so honoured. On 29 January 1997, the first UEFA–CAF Meridian Cup All-Star Match between Europe and Africa was played in Benfica's Estádio da Luz in

Lisbon Lisbon ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 567,131, as of 2023, within its administrative limits and 3,028,000 within the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, metropolis, as of 2025. Lisbon is mainlan ...

and was televised in 100 countries worldwide, including 30 in Africa, for an audience of 60 million viewers. Abedi Pele scored a goal early in the first half and, after Vincent Guérin had equalised for Europe just before half-time, it was the 1998 African Player of the Year, Mustapha Hadji, who struck Africa's 78th-minute winner in the 2–1 win. In 2001, the UEFA–CAF Meridian Cup All-Star Match format was changed slightly for the second All-Star Match to bring together players aged between 35 and 45 who now revel in their 'veteran' status and play the game purely for pleasure. The squad sparked off memories of great footballing moments at club and international level.

Football ambassador

In June 2001 he was nominated by the present government of Ghana to serve as the next chairman of the FA, an opportunity he later gave up for a more experienced former coach of Ghana for which in his own words said that this was to be an opportunity to learn from his superiors. At present he owns a first division club, called Nania, with the future hopes of nurturing the young talent to augment the fledgling league of the country. He has also been involved with charity work across the African continent.

Controversy

Abedi Pele was embroiled in a serious alleged Second Division Promotion Play-off bribery scandal for which the Ghana Football Association found him and others guilty. The guilty verdict attracted fines and suspensions of Abedi Pele and others, but these were quashed by the Appeals Committee of the Football Association after determining that there were irregularities in the initial judgement of the Ghana Football Association. The allegations stem from an astonishing 31–0 victory recorded by his club, Nania FC over a much respected

Okwawu United Okwawu United is a Ghanaian professional Football team, football club based in Nkawkaw, Eastern Region (Ghana), Eastern Region. They are competing in the Access Bank Ghana Plc, Access Bank Division One League, Ghana, Division One League. Their hom ...

side. A similarly farcical 28–0 result was recorded in another second division match played between Great Mariners and Tudu Mighty Jets on the same weekend. The clubs involved in that Second Division Promotion Play-off Zone III match were also investigated and subject to the prospect of stiff penalties and demotions. Despite his vehement denials, Abedi Pele had been chastised by some members of the Ghanaian media, who were demanding that strong punitive actions be taken against him, by Ghana's football governing body as well as the legal system. His wife Maha Ayew was banned from football against this manipulations scandal on 3 November 2008.

Style of play

As a playmaker, Abedi Pele was known for his speed, close control, and

dribbling In sports, dribbling is maneuvering a ball by one player while moving in a given direction, avoiding defenders' attempts to intercept the ball. A successful dribble will bring the ball past defenders legally and create opportunities to score. As ...

skills, as well as his passing and goalscoring ability. He usually played as an attacking midfielder or as a forward. He was also given the nicknames the "Maestro" and "The African Maradona."

Personal life

Abedi Pele is the brother of Kwame and Sola Ayew (ex- Hearts of Oak and Black Meteors). He is also the father of André,

Jordan Jordan, officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, is a country in the Southern Levant region of West Asia. Jordan is bordered by Syria to the north, Iraq to the east, Saudi Arabia to the south, and Israel and the occupied Palestinian ter ...

, Rahim, Imani, and is married to Maha. His sons, Ibrahim, André and

, have also become internationals for Ghana. André and Rahim – represented Ghana in the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa while Jordan and André represented Ghana in the

2014 FIFA World Cup The 2014 FIFA World Cup was the 20th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for list of men's national association football teams, men's national Association football, football teams organised by FIFA. It took place in Brazil fr ...

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

and the

2022 FIFA World Cup The 2022 FIFA World Cup was the 22nd FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for national football teams organized by FIFA. It took place in Qatar from 20 November to 18 December 2022, after the country was awarded the hosting ri ...

Qatar Qatar, officially the State of Qatar, is a country in West Asia. It occupies the Geography of Qatar, Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it shares Qatar–Saudi Arabia border, its sole land b ...

Career statistics

Club

International

:''Scores and results list Ghana's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Pele goal.''

Honours

Player

Marseille * French Division 1: 1990–91, 1991–92 *

: 1992–93; runner-up: 1990–91 Al Ain * Pro-League: 1999–2000 * UAE President's Cup: 1999 Ghana * African Cup of Nations: 1982; runners-up:

1992 1992 was designated as International Space Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 – Boutros Boutros-Ghali of Egypt replaces Javier Pérez de Cuéllar of Peru as United Nations Secretary-General. * January 6 ** The Republ ...

* West African Nations Cup: 1982,

1983 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call. Events January * January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to TCP/IP is officially completed (this is considered to be the beginning of the ...

, 1984 Individual * BBC African Footballer of the Year: 1991 * African Footballer of the Year: 1991, 1992, 1993 * Africa Cup of Nations Golden Ball:

* Africa Cup of Nations Team of the Tournament:

1994 The year 1994 was designated as the " International Year of the Family" and the "International Year of Sport and the Olympic Ideal" by the United Nations. In the Line Islands and Phoenix Islands of Kiribati, 1994 had only 364 days, omitti ...

, 1996 * Ghana Footballer of the Year: 1993 * MasterCard African Team of the 20th Century: 1998 * IFFHS African Player of the Century (1901–2000): 3rd Best * IFFHS All-time Africa Men's Dream Team: 2021 *

: 9th 1992, Nomination 1991 *

All-Star Forward: 1996 (Reserve), 1997 (Reserve), 1999 * FIFA 100 * Golden Foot Legends Award: 2011 * Ghana Football Awards Living Legend Award: 2022 * Ghana SWAG Best Colts (Young) Player: 1978 * On 26 March 2004, he was appointed a "(WAFUNIF) Special Envoy 4 Peace and Development" * CAF Top 30 African Footballers in the last 50 years: 5th place Orders * OOTV Civil Division: Order of the Volta: (1996)

Manager

Nania *

Ghanaian FA Cup The Ghana FA Cup, currently known as the MTN FA Cup for sponsorship purposes, is the annual knockout competition in Ghanaian football created in 1958, a year after the independence of Ghana. Open to all Ghanaian football clubs, the competiti ...

: 2011 * Ghana Super Cup: 2011

References

External links