Andre Ayew explains the role of Abedi Pele in helping black players move to Europe

Black Stars captain, Andre Dede Ayew, has lauded the role played by Ghana legend and his father, Abedi Ayew Pele, in helping black footballers move to Europe.

The 30-year-old said Abedi Pele and his generation, paved the way for other black players to enter Europe amid racial discrimination.

Black Lives Matter advocacy has sparked recently across the globe when an African-American, George Floyd, was killed by an American white police officer by kneeling on his neck for over eight minutes.

Football players have been one of the high-profile groups of people to join the protest by taking the knee before games.

Ayew has detailed the role played by his dad and the players of his generation in helping eliminate barriers stopping black players from moving to Europe.

“If you look back to the years before my dad’s time, it was even worse than now. These players like my dad paved the way for everyone to come in and prove that black people can do the job in Europe”, he told Sky Sports.

“I remember playing in Russia in the Europa League versus (Zenit) St. Petersburg, getting bananas thrown everywhere."

“People have gone through worse, I’m talking about my personal experience, but I’ve seen friends going through things and I just feel like that’s not how it should be."

“We need to make sure that we stamp our foot on the floor and make sure that it changes. Nothing’s easy but we need to keep going and not give up on what we believe in. I think that can take the world to another level.”

Abedi Pele’s first shot in Europe came in 1983 when he moved to Sweden-based club, FC Zurich from Al Sadd, but he’s known for his displays with French side, Olympique Marseille.